
Class __i:_Lii3. 

Book__Ejl 






COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Young Folk^s Library of Choice Literature 

STORIES 

OF 

MINNESOTA 



GEO. F. FORSTER 

Superintendent of Schools, Fairfax, Minn. 



'The Spartans did not inquire how many the enemy are, but where they are.' 



EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 

BOSTON 
New York Chicago San Francisco 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies R«g«iv«il 

APR 4 1903 

^Copyright Entry 

CLASS ^ XXO. No. 

COPY B. 



Copyrighted 
By educational PUBLISHTNG COMPANY 



THK INDIAN MAID'S WAR SOXG. 

Hark 1 the war son^ — the shoutiug — I hear the shrill sound ; 
They raise the red tomahawk out of the ground : 
In the van of the battle my warrior must go ; 

Like the blood-thirsty panther he'll steal on his foe. 

Yet with love his bold heart is still beating for me, 

With a feeling like mine which death only can sever ; 

In kindness it flows as the sweet sugar-tree, 
And akin to the aspen it trembles forever. 

— Sioux Poem in Dublin University Magazine. 



CONTENTS. 

The Indian's Story. Menard 
The Indian's Story. Du Lhut . 
Father Louis Hennepin, Recollect, iO.so 
Carver ...... 

Early Days at Fort Sneilinir • 

The First Steamboat 

The Sioux and Their Ways . 

The Rangers of the Forest 

The Drum-beat of the Minnesota First 

The Outbreak of the Sioux, 1S62 

Captain Marsh .... 

Sergeant Jones and the Third of August 

The Attack on Fort Ridgely 

The Birch Coulie Massacre 

The Outcome .... 

Their Last Day upon Earth 

Indian Strategy . . . , 

Pug-on-a-ke-shig and the Battle of Leech Lake 

The Grasshopper Scourge in Renville County 

Minnesota in the War with Spain 

Hunting Wolves in Bed .... 

The Falls of Minnehaha .... 

4 



7 

la 

19 

27 

35 

41 

53 

58 

63 

85 

89 

94 

101 

107 

115 

117 

129 

135 

140 

145 

147 

151 



FOREWORD. 

Tlie history of the striiijoie of tlie pioneer and yeoman of 
early Minnesota, tliouiili it is an inhind state, carved out of tlie 
Louisiana and Northwest Territories, reads like the story of many 
a state won along- the coast. The battles of the settlers with soil 
and savage, the energy and thrift later dis})layed by her citizens, 
or their patriotism when war called to action — these things are 
not new, nor indeed remarkable, when their frequency is counted, 
liut a knowledge of the struggles and their incident deeds of 
courage, necessary to planting a new world, and especially a 
knowledge of what was necessary to a conquest of America, is of 
value to youth. ^Vnd surely it is more fitting that the western 
boys and girls should finish their school-days with a knowledge of 
the historical facts in the rise of their own states to eminence, 
rather than that they be acquainted only with the story of the 
Pilgrims of Massachusetts or the Cavaliers of Virginia. 

With facts that interest him, moreover, the pupil does better 
work in his reading classes, than with facts that do not ; and, the 
point of view being nearer, he will be more interested, if he lives 
in Minnesota, in the history of Minnesota thnn in the history of 
La])land or of the Dutch in New York. 

The following pages have been written partly for my own 
classes, partly for publication, and all with an abundant love for 
our growing Connnonwealth and the children of its splendid 
schools. Intended, primarily, for seventh grade pupils, this brief 
account may well serve its purpose in sixth or eighth grades. 

Credit, where due, has been given in the pages that follow. 

Fairfax. O. F. F. 

5 




STATE FLAG OF MINNESOTA. 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 



THE INDIAN'S STOKY. 
Menard. 

Listen to the story of the Huron youth, Owasicut: 
By the falhng waters of the Oswego, in the coun- 
try of the Iroquois, we had dwelt in peace and 
plenty. Deep among the trees of the forest lay our 
village, and not far off the sandy shores of the big 
water of the Ontarios. It was there we caught our 
fish, and along its shores we hastened, when the war 
loving Iroquois dug up the buried tomahawk and 
forced us to flee. 

We came to the protection of the peaceful 
Ottawas and gave our name to the Lake-of-the-Ba3^ 
But the " great want " drove us again towards the 
setting sun; sent us to the country of the Ojibways 



8 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

by the shores of Mitchi Sawgyegan.* Some of us 
followed the sini even to the beautiful Minnesota, 
^^ the sky-tinted water," and met with the fierce 
young warriors of the Dakotahs, called by the Chip- 
pewas, fNadouessioux, which means enemies. 

The warriors of the Dakotahs had not seen such 
guns and knives and axes as those of oiu* braves, and 
made friends with our band, and gave us land, — an 
island in the middle of the great Father of Waters, 
— smoked a calumet and called our young men 
brothers. Few the days and nights we stayed and 
were called their brothers, the brothers of the 
Dakotahs. They did not love us, it was our guns 
and knives they loved. In angei* we journeyed up 
against the stream of the Chippewa s and built our 
tepees again by the Big Sea, and gave the place a 
name, Chaguamegon. 

Sullenly we dwelt, and the moons were but few 
that passed before there came seeking us here the 
black-robed chief, Menard. In that country far 
away towards the day-dawn, by the lake of the 

•Michigan. t ojibways and Chlppewas are the same tribe. 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 9 

Hiirons, we had known hini. \\v had taught the 
boys and the squaws tlie goodness of his Great 
Spirit and given the sick men medicine; but revenge 
was working among the warriors of the Hurons, 
revenge against the Sioux. Why sliould not we, 
with our guns and sliarper axes, why shoukl not we 
be master and the Nadouessioux skive? 

Father Menard tauglit us that revenge was for 
his Great Spirit only, but we were sullen men and 
would not listen, and bade him silence; but Father 
Menard was not a coward man and would not be 
still, and cried, ''Are we to serve the Great Spirit 
only when there is nothing to suffer and no risk 
of life?'' So one day the black-robed chief, going 
out in his canoe came not back again, but Eagle 
Feather, who Avas his companion, came back alone 
and said around that the good father had been lost 
in the many paths where he had landed. And the 
sullen warriors said, '^ It is well he comes no more." 

And one hundred of the bravest of our young 
men saw the time was good, and we went again 



3 STOKIES OF MINNESOTA. 

the Dakotahs and met them near the village of their 
chief, Crow Wing. But fearful is the twang of the 
bow-string of the Dakotahs. The air was filled with 
swift-flying arrows, and even Avhile they ran from us 
they turned their faces and fired again. As many 
Huron braves of my companions fell whether our 
enemies stood or ran. So the Dakotahs drove us 
into the marshes, and bitten by the stinging flies, 
and burning under the fire of the sun, we lay in 
quiet until the night. But again the foe was better 
than were we, for they had laid thongs of beaver 
skins, hung with bells, in our path. We stumbled 
on the bells and quickly the Siolix had cut us down, 
all but one. Me they made captive and brought 
into the village. 

The Sioux are like Iroquois, fierce and quarrel- 
some, and always at wai*. They live in many great 
villages along the Father of Waters and are leagued 
together in one strong nation. So do they call 
themselves Dakotahs. Of planting and cultivating 
the earth they have no knowledge like as we have. 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 



11 



but live on the wild oats and wild rice of Ihc 
marshes. Xoi- is their lan<>iiage like the Huron, 
smooth and floAving, but rough, guttui-al and eoarse. 

I like them not at all, but T must stay liei-e. 

And often while T stay, I think of tlie good white 
fiither who loved his ITui'on children, and tirst 
among us tried to teach us of the (Ireat Spirit. 





TA-TANKA-XAZIN. 

(A Sioux Chief.) 



THE INDIAN'S STORY. 
Du Lhut. 

It was in the Moon of Falling Leaves a white 
man came to trade among the villages of the Sionx. 
From Quebec he journeyed in a canoe with other 
traders, and had the name Du Lhut. The white 
man brought the tribesmen of the Sioux many gifts 
of beads and weapons, and told of the great white 
chief who dwelt a long wa}^ off, across a mighty 
water, in a countiy he named Fi-ance; a noble pale 
face, who loved the bi-aves of the Dakotahs, the old 
men and the young men, and their squaws and their 
pappooses, and called them all his childi-en. At 
Mah-to-wa, upon a tree, he cut the totem of his 
chief, and raised the arms of France. Many coun- 
cils he held with the warriors of the village, and in 
one he spoke in this wise, standing tall and black 
against the moonlight: 

13 



14 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

" O Chief, many scalps hang at Crow AVing's 
belt; he is brave and noble. The white men and 
the Dakotahs have smoked the calumet together, 
and the great chief, Crow Wing, has heard it said 
before the council-fire of his braves, ' The pale face 
loves his brother.' Many presents has he given the 
braves and young men of the Dakotahs, and after 
many smokes he is allowed to push his light canoe 
along your waters. Yet Crow Wing can see the 
white man knows not the road unless he gives him 
guides to take him on his way. On the great Mis- 
sissippi, the father of the waters, in the hunting 
grounds of the Dakotahs, the white man would meet 
his friend, the black-robed medicine man^ of the pale 
faces. But the way is dark, he will lose himself in the 
forest and see his brother. Crow Wing, never again." 

Then the white man, Faffart, told in Sioux the 
speech of Du Lhut; but I, Owasicut, already knew 
it; for many suns before Du Lhut had seen the 
country of the Sioux, Father Menard journeyed to 
their land and paddled on the waters of the Miss- 

* Hennepin, it was reported, was on the Lower Mississippi. 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 15 

issippi. I had seen bini then and IcaiMicd his speech, 
and he had taught us, as many winters l)efore he 
had done in the country of the Ottawas, l)y the 
Great Lake of the Ilurons. 

Crow Wing took liis long ])ipe from liis mouth, 
blew the Avhite smoke up into the heavens and 
answered: "The Avhite chief speaks well, and Crow 
Wing will send his young men to guide his white 
brother to the great Father of Waters, that he may 
return again for ])eaver and otter." 

But Crow Wing did not send his young men as 
he promised. For one of the two canoes of Du 
Lhut he sent a captive Chippewa, and for the other 
his Huron prisoner, me, Owasicut. Witli many 
skins of beaver packed u])on the l)acks of white and 
red men, Owasicut k'd the way in silence through 
the forest, from the village of Mah-to-wa; guns and 
powdei' had tlie wliite man k'ft witli Ci'ow \\ ing foi* 
his beaver pelts. There were as many that jour- 
neyed through the forest as the fingers of Owasicut's 
hands, and two of them were red men. 



16 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

Soon the water loomed before the white men and 
their guides, the Big Sea AVater, and on the sandy 
beach, beside the log tepee Dn Lhnt had built, the 
canoes lay waiting. Du Lhnt stood looking at the 
place and said, " It is the fai* end of the lake, and so 
it shall be called Fond du Lac." 

Then said Du Lhut to the white man who spoke 
the language of the Dakotahs, -^ Faffart, do you take 
in your canoe two packers and the Chippewa, whilst 
the rest go with the Sioux in the other.'' 

■' Owasicut is not a Sioux, Monsieur, a Hui-on is 
Owasicut. When not yet a warrior, I learned the 
white man's language among the Ottawas when 
Fathei* Menard was alive and taught us.'' 

^^ Menard? Well I knew him. He did labor 
faithfully among the red men; and you say the good 
father is dead? When was it? for I saw him a few 
months since." 

" But as many moons ago as I have eyes, O pale 
face, he wandered away and came not back." 

"Rest his soul in peace! And may angels 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 17 

^'iiard those men of sti-engtli and courage wlio ai"e 
trying for a passage to the South Sea, l)y tliis same 
Father of AYatei-s, for which we are searching:. 
Great hope Hes in my heart that I may meet them, 
therefore let us hasteu/' 

Swiftly rushed the l)ii'ch canoes over the waters of 
the Big Sea, and when the sun had slept a little, 
Owasieut had led them into the !N"emitsakout. On 
its banks the white men stopped and rested until the 
sun once more awoke. When the white chief had 
waked, Owasieut set oif, and guided up against the 
stream the canoes and told the travelers of their 
journeys as he worked. 

" The sun will sleep once more and I'ise again, 
and in a little time the i)ale face can paddle no more. 
Then must he walk as for as he can see, and cai*rv 
his canoe to where another river rises in a lake and 
by its waters shall we come into the great Father of 
Waters." 

And as Owasieut had said, so it happened. 

Not many times the sun had slept and wakened. 



18 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

when, fi'om passing Chippewas, it was learned a 
hunting part}^ of the lower Sioux had passed below 
in the Mississippi, and Avith them white men; one a 
black-i'obed, smooth-faced man, the others bearded, 
hairy tra])pers; and that the l)lack-robed chief was 
loakqn (of a mystical, wizard-like nature). Then it 
was that Owasicut left the white men and went back 
among his people, but he forgets not the brave, 
white chief who, first among the Sioux, had made 
them friendly to the white men — the wdiite men who 
first of their peo|)le wei'e allowed on the bosom of 
the great Father of Waters in the country of the 
Dakota hs. I am an old man noAV, but 1 forget not 
Sieur Du Lhut. 



i 




* T 



FATHER LOUIS HENNEPIN, RECOLLECT. 

1G80. 

About the year 1G50 there was ])(>rn to poor peo- 
ple in the Httle town of Ath, in Holhmd, a Ijoy baby. 
He was duly christened in the little church of the 
town by the good cure, when his god-mother gave 
him the name Louis, after Louis XIV., the Grand 
Monarch, who was then reigning in France. 

As the lad grew up he early displayed a roving 
disposition and manifested an intense desire to visit 
some of the lands far away over the ocean to the 
west. At that time settlement of the French lands 
was being vigorously prosecuted by '' le Grand 
Monarch," and the wonders of the new country wei'e 
the all-absorbing topic of the little town of Ath. 
What wonder, then, that Louis felt resistlessly 
drawn toward Quebec and the western colonies! 

19 



20 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

But liis parents consecrated him to the priesthood, 
and for a time, at least, he had to stifle his longings 
and i)atiently wait events. Every opportunity, how- 
ever, that ofltered itself to hear stories of adventure 
and hair-breadth escape was eagerly snapped up, 
and we find him stealing away to sailors' taverns 
and the loitering places of adventurers, and spend- 
ing days, regardless of loss of time or meals, in 
listening behind the doors. 

At last comes his opportunity. The Superior of 
the Order of St. Fi-ancis, to which he belongs, 
requires him to immediately embark for Canada, and 
in company with La Salle and other explorers, he is 
soon afloat and bound for the IN'ew AYorld (1676). 
After sojourning for a short period at Quebec, the 
adventure-loving Franciscan is permitted to go to a 
mission station on or near the site of the present 
town of Kingston, Ont. Here there w^as much to 
gratify his love of novelty, and he passed consider- 
able time in rambling among the Iroquois of 'New 
York. Then a little later he is encamped with 



STOHIKS OF MINNESOTA. 21 

La Salle's ])ai'ty on the Xiagai'a liiver, waiting' foi' 
spring to l)reak the ice in the Great Lakes before 
starting West, whiling away the hours, meanwhile, 
in studying the manners and customs of the Seneca 
Indians, and in admiring the sublimest of God's 
handiworks, Niagai-a Falls. 

Passing hurriedly over their stormy voyage, we 
lift the curtain upon the party again at Fort Creve- 
cceur on the Illinois River, just as Father Hennepin 
and two others are leaving the foi't in a frail Indian 
canoe to ascend the Mississippi. He has himself 
written the narrative of his voyage and despite the 
fact that there are those who ai'e inclined to think he 
prevaricates at times and often exaggerates, we will 
let him tell his own tale. He writes: 

''' Oui' pi'ayers were heard, when on the 11th ol' 
Ai)ril, 1G80, about two o'clock in the afternoon, we 
suddenly perceived thirty-three l)ark canoes, manned 
by a hundred and twenty Indians, coming ch)wn with 
very great speed, on a war party, against the 
Miamis, Illinois, and Maronas. These Indians sur- 



22 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

roiiiidecl us, and wliile at a distance, discharged 
some arrows at us, but as they a])proached our 
canoe, the old men seeing us with the Calumet of 
peace in our hands, prevented the young men from 
killing us. These savages, leaping from tlieii' 
canoes, some on land, others into tlie Avater, 
approached us with tVightful cries and yells, and 
as we made no resistance, being only three against 
so great a number, one of them wrenched our Cal- 
umet from our hands, while our canoe and theirs 
were tied to the shore. 

'' As we did not understand their language, we 
took a little stick, and by signs which we made on 
the sand, showed them that their enemies, the 
Miamis, whom they sought, had fled across the 
Mississippi to join the Illinois. When they saw 
themselves discovered and unable to surprise their 
enemies, three or four old men, placing their hands 
on my head, wept in a mournful tone. 

'' AVith a spare handkerchief I had left I wiped 
away their tears, but they would not smoke our 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 2.S 

Calumet. They made us cross the river while all 
shouted with tears in their eyes; they made us row 
befoi-e them, and we heard yells capable of striking 
the most resolute with terroi*. After landing our 
canoe and goods, part of Avhich had already been 
taken, we made a fire to boil our kettle, and we gave 
them two large Avild turkeys which we had killed. 

■^ Then the Indians, having called an assembly to 
deliberate what they were to do with us, the two 
head chiefs of the party approaching, showed us l)y 
signs that the warriors wished to tomahawk us. 
This compelled me to go to the war chiefs with one 
young man, leaving the other by our property, and 
throw into their midst six axes, fifteen knives and 
six fathom of our black tobacco; and then bringing 
down my head, I showed them with an axe that they 
might kill me, if they thought proper. This present 
appeased many individual members, who gave us 
some beaver to eat, putting the three first morsels 
into our mouths, according to the custom of the 
country; and blowing on the meat which was very 



24 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

hot, before putting the bark dish before us to let us 
eat what we liked. We spent the night in anxiety, 
because, before retiring, they had returned us our 
peace Calumet. 

" Our two boatmen were resolved to sell their lives v 
dearly, and to resist if attacked; their arms and 
swords were ready. As for my own part, I resolved 
to let myself be killed without any resistance, as I 
was going to announce to them a God who had 
been foully accused, unjustly condemned, and 
cruelly crucified, without showing the least aversion 
to those who put him to death. We watched in 
turn, in our anxiety, so as not to be surprised asleep. 
The next morning, a chief named Na-i-a-to-ba asked 
for the peace Calumet, filled it with the bark of the 
red willow, hilUhi-nnicTt, and we all smoked. It 
w^as then signified that the white men were to return 
with them to their villages. . . . 

" I found it difficult to say my office before these 
Indians. Many seeing me move my lips, said in a 
disturl)ed tone of voice, loakan de (wonderful). 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA- 25 

Michael, all out of conntenaiice, told me, that if I 
continued to say my breviary, we should all three l)e 
killed, and le Pieard begged me at least to pray 
apart, so as not to provoke them. I followed the 
latter's advice, but the more I concealed myself the 
more I had the Indians at my heels; for when I 
entered the wood, they thought I was going to hide 
some goods underground, so that I knew not on 
wdiat side to turn to pray, for they never let me get 
out of sight. . . . They thought the breviary 
was a spirit which taught me to sing for their 
diversion; for these people are naturall}^ fond of 
singing." 

Many other things connected with the good 
Father were wcdrm, likewise: his chalice, his com- 
pass, his writing on paper, a certain iron pot with 
feet like the paw^s of a lion, were all ^' magic '' or 
" supernatural " to the untutored savages. 

Hennepin was the first white man to visit the 
Falls of the Mississippi, w^here now stands the l)ean- 
tiful metropolis of the Northwest, Minneapolis, and 



26 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

he it was who named the falls', calling it after his 
jiatron saint, St. Anthony of Padua. While with a 
hunting party of Sioux on the Mississipj^i below the 
falls, Hennepin was met by Du Lhut and Faffart, 
who had come down from their trading-post at 
Fond du Lac on Lake Supei-ior. 

After about six months' stay among the Sioux of 
the LTpper Mississippi, Hennepin, with his compan- 
ions, eight Frenchmen in all, returned to the fort on 
the Illinois, and from there to France, to publish the 
wonderful history of his explorations. 




carvi:r. 



Just west of ^rinneapolis, you will find on your 
state map Carver County, named after Jonathan 
Carver, who came to ^Minnesota, or, as it was then 
called, Louisiana, on a tour of exploration in ITGG, 
ten years before the signing* of the Declaration of 
Independence. Carver came from (Connecticut, and 
was tWrty-fonr years old Avhen he came West. 

When, in his fifteenth year, his father died, he 
immediately began to think upon his future, and 
although his father had ])een a caj)tain in the army 
of Kinof William, Jonathan decided lie Avanted to be 
a doctor. In three ^^ears, however, he had changed 
his mind, and we find him an ensign in the English 
army fighting against the French in the colonies. 

27 



28 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

History says he was wounded at Lake George in 
1757, and nearly lost his life. 

When the French had been defeated, Jonathan 
came West with a number of traders, following* the 
usual route, via the Gi'eat Lakes and the Straits of 
Mackinaw, and arrived at Gi-een Bay, AVisconsin, 
the 18th of September, 186G. By canoe he journej^ed 
up Fox River and down the Wisconsin into the Missis- 
sippi at Praii'ie du Chien. Near this place the traders 
camped for the winter, while Carvei', Avith two 
companions — a Canadian voyager and a Mohawk 
Indian — proceeded farther up the Mississippi. 

Stopping one day near the beautiful Lake Pepin, 
he went up the bank of the river to look around 
while the attendants were getting i-eady his dinner. 
]N'ot far from the river he saw a large, level plain, 
and in the plain an earthwork large enough to cover 
five thousand men : four feet in height, nearly a mile 
long and circular in form, its flanks touched the 
river bank. It had evidently been built for centuries, 
for it was covered with grass and trees, and it could 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 29 

not liave hecii i-nised In tlie untutored Indian; it 
was too rcgulai* and fashioned with too much mili- 
larv skill, every an<>'le hein<>', even then, visible. A 
diteh had onee existed about the whoU' eml)anknient, 
and the structure overlooked the entire countiy for 
considerable distance around. It was probably a 
monument of the j)re-historic Mound Builders, whose 
works, we shall iuu\, are to be seen in many [)laces 
in Minnesota. 

Lake Pepin and the beautiful Falls of St. Anthony 
excited his imagination, lie si)eaks, also, of the 
cave still to be seen near St. Paul, at Dayton's Bluff. 

"The Indians term it Wakan-lii)i. The entrance 
is about ten feet wide, the height of it five feet. 
The arch Avithin is fifteen feet high and about thirty 
feet broad; the bottom consists of fine, clear sand. 
About thirty feet from the entrance begins a lake, 
the water of which is transparent, and extends to an 
unsearchable distance, for the darkness of the cave 
prevents all attempts to acquire knowledge of it. I 
threw a small pebble towards the interior part of it 



30 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

with ray utmost strength. I could hear that it fell 
into the water, and, notwithstanding it was of a 
small size, it caused an astonishing and terrible 
noise, that reverberated through those gloomy 
regions. I found in the cave many Indian hiero- 
glyphics, which appeared very ancient, for time had 
nearly covered them Avith moss, so that it was with 
difficulty I could trace them. They w^ere cut in a 
rude manner upon the inside of the w^all, which was 
composed of a stone so extremely soft that it might 
be easily penetrated with a knife; a stone every- 
where to be found near the Mississippi. 

" At a little distance from this dreary cavern is the 
burial place of several bands of the Naudowessie 
Indians. Though these people have no fixed resi- 
dence, being in tents, and seldom but a few months 
in one spot, yet they always bring the bones of the 
dead to this place." 

At a funeral of a Sioux chief he was admitted to 
the council, but they would not permit a stranger to 
see their burial place. The Sioux braves, to show 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 31 

their sorrow, pierced their arms with arrows and the 
women gashed their flesli with broken flints. 

Written in Carver's book is a l)urial oration 
dehvered over a dead eliief of the Dakotahs. 
Schiller, the i^reat ])oet of the Germans, at one time 
read this oration and wrote a ])oem, one of his very 
best, fi-om Carver's suggestions. The poem, '' Song 
of the ^adouessioux Chief," is given here, as trans- 
lated by Sir John Herschel: 

SoxG OF THE Kadouessioux Chief. 

See, where upon the mat he sits 

Erect, before his door. 
With jnst the same majestic air 

That once in life he wore. 

But Avhere is fled his strength of limb, 

The whirlwind of his breath? 
To the Great Spirit, when he sent 

The peace pipe's mounting wreath. 

Where are those falcon eyes, Avhich late 

Along the plain could trace. 
Along the grass's dcAvy waves 

The reindeer's printed pace? 



32 STORIES OF MINNESOTA; 

Those legs, which once with matchless speed, 
FlcAv through the drifted snow, 

Surpassed the stag's unwearied course, 
Outran the mountain roe? 

Those arms, once used with might and main, 

The stubborn bow to twang. 
See, see, their nerves are slack at last. 

All motionless they hang. 

'T is well with him, for he has gone 
Where snow no more is found, 

Where the gay thorn's perpetual bloom 
Decks all the field around. 

Where wild birds sing from every spray, 
Where deer come sweeping by. 

Where fish from every lake aff*ord 
A 2)lentiful supply. 

With spirits now he feasts above, 

And leaves us here alone. 
To celebrate his valiaut deeds. 

And round his grave to mourn. 

Sound the death song, bring forth the gifts, 

The last gifts of the dead — 
Let all which may yield him joy 

Within his grave be laid. 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 33 

The hatchet place beneath his head, 

Still red with hostile blood; 
And add, because the way is long. 

The bear's fat limbs for food. 

llie scalping-knife beside liiiii lay, 

With ])aints of gorgeous dye, 
That in the hind of soiils his form 

May shine triumphantly. 

Although the country Avas a thousand miles fi'om 
any English settlement, the exi)lorer feh certain the 
beauty and fertility of the country about the ]Minne- 
sota would soon attract settlers. ^'And the future 
settlers," says he, '• Avill be able to convey their 
produce most easily down to the Gulf of Mexico, the 
current of the Mississippi being favorable to small 
craft. In time," he adds, " canals might be cut and 
communication opened by water with N^ew York ])y 
Avay of the lakes." 

Carver went from Minnesota to England, and 
died there, very ^^oor, in 1780. 




EAKLY DAYS AT FORT SPELLING. 



ICiitei'c'd and (K'cu[)iL'(l i'ov tlie Mrst time in the 
year 1821, l)y Colonel Snellin^i;- and the Fifth Fnited 
States Inlantrv, Foi-t SnelHn<>' has stood eiii'htv 
years. It was built in the shape of a lozenge at the 
jnneli(jn oC the Mississippi and ]\[innesota rivers. 
The fii'st barraeks foi- the soldiers were log cabins, 
but afterwards all the houses were of stone. At the 
fort hved the Avives and ehihb'en of the officers, and 
one of the ehikh'en, now Mrs. Charlotte Wisconsin 
A^an Cleve, a I'esident of Minneapolis, tells what 
happened there when she was a little girl: 

^■Indians very often came to the fort, painted and 

35 



36 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

on the war path against some neighboring tribe; 
sometimes traders and cattle-men came, or the 
French courear-de-hois. One October day seven 
Indian women came paddling down the great 
^Father of Waters' in their canoes, and not seeing 
the rapids soon enough, were drawn over the Falls 
of St. Anthony into the foaming waters below and 
would have lost their lives but for the help of the 
brave soldier boys. In March of the next year 
about three feet of snow fell and the poor Indians 
suffered greatly. 

" On one occasion thirty lodges of Sisseton Sioux 
w^ere caught in a teri-ible snow storm on a large 
i:)rairie. The storm lasted so loug that many of the 
Indians starved to death, and all might have died 
but for a stroug and coui-ageous warrior, wdio 
started off on snow shoes for the nearest trading 
i30st, one hundred miles aAvay, to bring help. Four 
Canadians went l)ack with him, carrying food to the 
sufferers, and l)rought the I'cmnant of the Indians to 
the fort. 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA.. 37 

"The next vear the Indians near the fort o^cw 
very anui'V at the wliile men and tlii'eatencd to 
do tlieni hai'in. One June (hiv, Iwo boats were 




OLD BLOCK HOUSE. FOKT SNELUNG. 

coming np the Mississii)i)i rivei" witii I'ood lor tlu' 
soldiei's at Foi-t Snelling. At Wapasha's village, 
Avhei'e the city of Winona is now, the Dakotahs 
ordered the ei-ew to eonie ashore. When the l)oat- 
men landed, however, and saw that the hnhans 
meant to kill them, they wished to get away again, 



38 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

foi' they had no guns, so the ca])tain- assumed a 
l)i'ave face and ordered the Indians to leave the 
boats. For a wonder they did — the3M\ere afraid of 
the daring* captain. Before they started l)aek the 
men in the l)oats Avere all given mnskets and a 
l)aiTel of cartridges. It was well it was so, too. 

''At the month of the Bad Axe River the savages 
attacked the men in the boats, and from their canoes 
tried to cHmb into the white man's vessel. The 
boatmen were getting safely away, when suddenly 
their little craft stopped — it had run upon a sand 
bar! A young warrior mounted the deck and began 
to fire his gun at the voyagers — they gave them- 
selves up for lost. But no! One of the men, 
^ Saucy Jack ' they call him, shoots the Indian, and 
jumping into .the water, begins pushing the boat 
back into the channel ; some of the others help, and 
soon, although the bullets splash the watei- all about 
them, they get safely away, all but two who had 
fallen in the first fire of the Indians from their 
ambush on the bank. 



SroRlES OK MINNESOTA. 39 

■'The Chipj)ewas and the iJakotahiS liave heeii 
mortal oiieinies as lon<^' as the oldest tril)esmeii ean 
reinembei'. The only name for the Dakotahs in the 
Chippewa lan<>'nage is Nadonessionx, whieh means 
'enemies/ It is from tiie last syllable of this word 
that we get the name Sioux for this tribe. Many an 
exciting* expei'ienee has come to the j)eople at the 
fort caused by the incessant wari'ing u[)on one 
another by bands from these ti'ibes so hostile to each 
other. It is historic that a running fight between a 
handful of Dakotahs and a band of Chippewas took 
phice in the streets of St. Paul as late as 1853.'' 




LITTLE CROW. 




THE FIRST STEAM-BOAT. 
An Old Trapper's Story op the Early Days. 

In those days there was a settlement just l)elow 
St. Paul, ealled ''Pig's Eye," and rio-ht across the 
river from it was Little Crow's village, Kaposia. A 
stalwart, sti-apping bi'ave was this Little Crow; and 
nis two sinewy sons, yonng l)ucks, qnite like their 
father — ''chips of the old block," indeed. 

When Crow and I were younger, I chanced across 
him one day caught in a bear traj) and helped him 
out. Well, there wasn't anything too good lor me 
after that. If I happened along at his place on one 
of my trij^s, the freedom of his lodge was mine and 
all there was in it. Why, 1 have known him to stalk 

41 



42 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

up and down the street of his village, all throug-h a 
winter's night, with only a thin blanket over him, in 
order that I might have his lodge and furs to cover 
me. Yes, sir! And you couldn't refuse, save you 
offended. But his kind Avere as few and far between 
as the footprints of them on the warpath. 

I think it was in the spring of 1823 I was out 
from Fort Snelling with a message ibr down the 
river. You see thei-e were rumors of an outbreak of 
the reds, and Colonel Snelling wanted ammunition 
and re-enforcements from down below, and so asked 
me to carry the message, because any one else might 
have been suspected. On the way down 1 stopped 
at liittle Crow's village for the night, thinking I 
might hear or see something to show me how the 
reds were feeling. 

With his usual gravity the chief greeted me and 
led me to his lodge, where we sat ourselves down on 
the furs before the door. His squaw brought him 
his pipe of red sand-stone, with a stem of reed hung 
with gorgeously colored feathers, and with much 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 48 

solemnity the old chief lighted it with an eml^er from 
the lodge fire, smoked a few minutes in silence and 
then handed the i)ii)e to me. SloAvly T pnlfed at it, 
and blew the smoke u]) into the air in eui'ls and 
rinofs. It was a lono' time ])efore I handed the 
ealnmet l)aek to him that he might knoek tlie ashes 
out aii'ainst the ground. Then it was lie feh free to 
speak, gazing fixedly into the lodge fire. . 

" Little Crow is glad to see his white brother,'' 
said he. 

"Little Crow is kind,'' I gi'avely responded, gaz- 
ing also at the burning embers. 

■'Does my brother no more ti-ap the beaver in the 
river, or hunt the deer in the forest, that Little Crow 
sees him so little of late ? " 

" The white man is getting too old and stiff to 
sleep in the woods, and stays wnth his l)i-others up 
yonder at the fort," said I, wondering while T si)oke 
if he would believe me, yet not knowing what else 
to say. 

"My brother should leai-n of the poor Indian, and 




LITTLE CKOW'S SOX. 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 45 

Oil his muscles that they grow not stiff." J lis tone 
miplied all T expected it to; I could not hope to 
deceive him; he did not expect the truth. 

^'And where does my brother venture now and 
alone?" he went on. 

^' Down the river to meet a great chief who comes 
to visit at the tort." 

"My brother did well to tarry at Kai)osia," fin- 
ished Little Crow, and he had me some sujiper 
brought, spread on the bark of trees, and left me 
alone foi* the night. 

This was not the first time I had slept among the 
Indians, as 1 have already told you, and 1 had always 
found them most hospitable and careful of my wants. 
I do not doubt that if I had been CroAv's enemy 
instead of his f I'iend, but what he would have treated 
me as well while his guest. 

At the farther end of the village street J now 
noticed a tall heap, or l)eacon, of dry Avood of some 
considerable size, and being added to continual! y by 
the squaws. Even as 1 watched them, \\\vy stopped 



46 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

their work and went about othei* business. This 
pile of wood was for their council-fire, I surmised. 
There would be a great pow-wow to-night, and I 
had come just in time. For long enough T sat there 
in front of the lodge after my meal, thinking over 
the situation. If this council meant anything to us; 
if it threatened the fort with attack, deeds would 
follow hard u})on words; but how to find out if the 
council meant mischief, and then how to get the 
news to Colonel Snelling ? These were the 
questions. 

Meanwhile the huge pile had been lighted, and 
the flames leaping upward in the darkness threw 
their lurid light upon the warriors, who were begin- 
ning to assemble for the " big talk." I knew that 
some time would elapse before the preliminary smok- 
ing and the long silence that alw^ays precedes the 
Indian discussion, were over and the talking began; 
so 1 sat on, i^lanning as to how I might hear the 
harangues unseen and without being missed. 

Finally, seeing that the attention of all was taken 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 47 

up by the long-winded speech of a ]:)articularly 
vociferous chief, and the women and children being 
gathered close outside the circle of braves, I crept 
unnoticed to a pi-otecting chunp of* willows witliiii 
earshot of the loud-voiced councillor, whom I 
recognized as Little Crow himself The shadoAvy 
silhouette of the savage looked grot(\scpu' enough 
in the semi-darkness about the fire — a veritable 
jumping-jack — his head-dress of feathers sway- 
ing this way and that, and his long arms flying 
about like the vanes of a wind-mill. So uuich \ 
noticed before the sense of Avhat he was saying 
came to me. 

"When last the voice of the Great Spirit spoke to 
us, urging that we no longei* submit to the w^rongs 
the white man has inflicted upon us; ui'ging that we 
be no more a coward I'ace, but dig up the I'ed toma- 
hawk, and put on again the feathers and war paint 
of other days when we were not so laggard in 
preparation for battle; swift messengers ran fi-om 
village to village and soon the war parties began to 



48 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

assemble; in the night was heard the eall of the 
screech owl, by day the call of the crow and the cat- 
bird, and many chiefs with their young men were 
here ready for the fray. Then why sit we here now 
and fear the attempt V Are we all grown cowards 
and afraid of death? 

"Is the scare we got at that time still Avith you? 
Wahpeton says the terrible beast we saw in the 
river on the day of the attack was sent to devour 
us; that it was not the voice of the Great Spirit our 
medicine men had heai-d, but the words of an Evil 
Spirit, who meant that we should be destroyed; 
that the Great Spirit was angry and sent the smok- 
ing canoe against us. We were cowards then, and 
ran away back to our villages, and the white men at 
the fort were saved that time. But we know how 
false are Wahpeton's words: the great canoe that 
smokes and shrieks we have seen many times since, 
and know it is but the magic of the white man and 
cannot harm us." 

So this was the reason, thought I, why the attack 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 49 

which had threateni'd the fort some months since 
was put ott'. The first steamer which ascended the 
river to St. Paul had scared off the reds. 

But Little Crow was still exhorting his braves,- 
and finally he won them to his way of thinkmg, and 
the attack was settled to l)egin in three days, or as 
soon as the warriors from the other village could be 
assembled. 

I had learned what T came for and crept back 
silently to the lodge. To my surprise I found the 
remains of my supper, which 1 had left on the 
ground Avhere I had sat, were gone and the fire had 
been replenished. Did they know T had crept oft', 
oi' had they supposed me slee2Ding in the lodge? 
Knowing my destination, and that I could not 
return in time to Avarn the fort, they nnght Avell be 
unconcerned as to what J found out. Assuredlv, 
howevei", they would nevei- let me carr}^ the news 
I had heard to Fort Snelling. But might J not 
send it? 

We had at times amused Little Crow, when at the 



50 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

fort, by writing his name on his thnmb-nail and 
sending him to some of the officers to have them 
read it. It nsed to tickle the chief immensely to 
hear each one read the same thing from his nail, and 
he many times had pronounced it '' magic.'' Could 
I get him to go to the fort now? 

In the morning Little Crow came to see me, his 
squaws w^itli him bringing my breakfast, and 
inquired if I was to start immediately. Upon my 
answei'ing " Yes," he said a party of his ^^oung men 
were going on a hunting ti*ip in their canoes a few 
miles down the rivei*, and he would have them wait 
foi' me. So! I was to be pi-evented from going 
anywhere but down the river! 

Just before starting, I ventured to ])ut my plan to 
the test. Colonel Snelling, I told the chief, had 
wished me to stop on my way down and ask Little 
Crow to visit him to-da3% as he had friends Avith him 
who wished to see the great Indian chief. The 
scheme worked! Crow gravely said he would go 
immediately. Was he thinking of looking the fort 



STORIKS OF ^riNNESUTA. 51 

over to g'ct a better knowledge of it, preparatory to 
the attack? Should I ])iiek Ids name upon his 
thumb? I asked. AVhen he unsuspectingly reached 
me his hand, I scratched, "Hold him," deep into the 
nail and colored it black. 

Well, he went, as he said he would, and upon one 
pretence or another they held liim for weeks at the 
fort, until the scare was ovei- and the wai'riors had 
gone back home. The i-eds would not, as I sur- 
mised, attack without their leader, and Little Crow 
would find it hard to explain Ids absence when next 
he wanted his braves to fight. 




CA\-KU WAS-TE WIN. 



THE SIOUX AXD THEIR WATS. 

The Chipj^eAva Indians of the Lake Superior 
region call their enemies in their own language, 
"^adouessioux"; this name they applied especially 
to their greatest foes, the Dakotahs, and it was often 
used, after the white man came to the Northwest, 
by the traders in si)eaking of the D^ikotahs. The 
woi-d was shortened by them to Sioiix, but we must 
remember that that name is not the proper one; 
Dakotah is the only name the Indian knows him- 
self by. 

" The Sioux," says one of oiw historians, who has 
lived long among them, " live in tepees, or circular, 
conical tents, supported by poles, so arranged as to 
leave an opening in the top for ventilation and for 
the escape of smoke. These were, before the 
advent of the whites, covered with dressed buffalo 

55 



54 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

skins, but moi-e recently with a coarse cotton tent 
cloth, which is jM-eferable on account of its being- 
much lighter to transport from place to place, as 
being almost constantly on the move, the tents being 
carried by the squaws. 

"There is no more comfortable habitation than 
the Sioux tepee to be found among the dwellers in 
tents anywhere. A fire is made in the center for 
either warmth or cooking purposes. The camp 
kettle is suspended over it, making cooking easy 
and cleanly. In the wintei", when the Indian family 
settles doAvn to remain any considerable time, they 
select a river bottom Avhere there is timber or chap- 
arral, and set up the tepee; then tliey cut the long 
grass or bottom cane, and stand it up against the 
outside of the lodge to the thickness of about 
twenty inches, and you have a very warm and cosy 
habitation. 

'^ The wealth of the Sioux consists very largely in 
his horses, and his subsistence is the game of the 
forest and plains and the fish and wild rice of the 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 5o 

lakes. Minnesota was an Indian paradise. It 
abounded in buftalo, elk, moose, deer, beaver, 
wolves, and, in fact, nearly all wild animals found 
in I^ortli America. It held upon its surface eight 
thousand beautiful lakes, alive with the finest edible 
fish. It Avas dotted over with beautiful groves of 
the sugar maple, yielding quantities of delicious 
sugar, and wild rice swamps were abundant. An 
inhabitant of this region, with absolute liberty, and 
nothing to do but defend it against the encroach- 
ments of enemies, certainly had very little more to 
ask of his Creator. But he Avas not allowed to 
enjoy it in peace. A stronger race was on his trail, 
and there was nothing left for him to do but surren- 
der his country on the best terms he could make.'' 

W. H. Keating, who was the scientist Avith Major 
Long's expedition, which arrived at Lake Traverse 
in July, 1823, thus speaks of Wanatan, the most dis- 
tinguished chief of the Yankton tribe of Sioux : 

" In the summer of 1822, he undertook a joui-ney, 
from Avhich, apprehending much danger on the })art 



56 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

of the Chippewas, he made a vow to the sun that if 
he returned safe he would abstain from all food or 
drink for the space of four successive days and 
nights, and that he would distribute among his peo- 
ple all the property which he possessed, including 
his lodges, horses and dogs. On his return, which 
happened without accident, he celebrated the dance 
of the Sun. This consisted in making three cuts 
through his skin, one on his breast and one on 
each of his arms. The skin was cut in the manner 
of a loop, so as to permit a rope to pass under 
the strip of skin and flesh which was thus divided 
from the body. The ropes being passed through, 
their ends were secured to a tall, vertical pole, 
planted at about forty yards from his lodge. He 
then began to dance around the pole, at the com- 
mencement of his fast, frequently swinging himself 
in the air, so as to be supported merely by the cords 
which were secured to the strips of skin cut off from 
his arms and breast. 

" He continued this exercise, with few intermis- 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 57 

sions, (luring the wliole of liis fast, until the fourth 
day, about ten o'clock A. M., when the strip of skin 
from his breast gave way. Notwithstanding w^hich 
he interru])ted not his dance, although merely sup- 
l)orted by his arms. At noon the strip IVoui his left 
arm snapped off. His uncle then thought he had 
suffered enough; he drew his knife and cut off the 
skin of his right arm, upon which Wanatan fell 
to the ground and swooned. The heat at this time 
was extreme. He was left exposed to the sun until 
night, when his friends brought him some i)ro- 
visions. After the ceremony was over he distri- 
buted to them his pro])erty, among which were five 
tine horses, and he aud his two squaws left his 
lodge, abandoning every article of their furniture." 
The Indians weie not at all choice iu theii' eating. 
The same writer as above tells of the feast of buffiilo 
stew and dog iiieat^ dressed without salt, wiiicli va^ 
set before him and his fellows; the lattei*. he says, 
was very fat, sweet and [)alatable. 



THE ka:n^gers of the foeest. 

As furs grew more and more scarce within easy 
reach of Quebec and Montreal, the Indians Avere 
persuaded to go farther and farther into the foi-est 
after them. Along with the Indians went adven- 
turous Frenchmen, learning where the best hunting 
and trapping grounds lay. Thus the trade, in furs 
grew\ and from far distant Ouisconsin and the 
banks of the Minnesota, '^ the sky-tinted water," 
were brought the pelts of the beavei* and mink. 
Once a year the tribes bordering on the great 
lakes — Chippewas from Lake Superior and Win- 
nebagos from Lake Michigan — came paddling 
down in their canoes, now loaded with skins, to 
Michilimackinac, to return laden with powder and 
bright hatchets. 

From this trade there sprang up a new class of 

58 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 59 

men, the courenrs de hois. In the beginning these 
were the men who had accompanied the Indians on 
their hunting trips and who had made themselves 
well accjuainted with the paths and places of the 
fur-bearing animals of the woods; these now became, 
however, the middle men and peddlers of the trade. 
Loading theii* canoes at Michihmackinac with bright 
colored cloths, blankets, beads, axes, knives, arms 
and ammunition, early some bright sunshiny morn- 
ing they pushed off into the steaming Lake Michi- 
gan, paddled up Green River and down the Ouis- 
consin into the great " Father of Waters" ; thence, 
perhaps up the Minnesota, trading along the way; 
sometimes they stopped for months among the 
Indians, even marrying Indian wives. 

" Twelve, fifteen, eighteen months would often 
elapse without any tidings of them, when they would 
come sweeping their way dow^n the lake in full glee, 
their canoes laden dow^n with packs of beaver skins. 
Now came their turn for revelry and extravagance. 
^You would be amazed/ says an old writer, ^if you 



60 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

saw how lavish these peddlers are when they return ; 
how they feast and game, and how prodigal they 
are, not only in their clothes, but upon their sweet- 
hearts. Such of them as are married have the wis- 
dom to retire to their own houses; but the bachelors 
act just as an East Indiaman and pirates are wont 
to do; for they lavish, eat, drink, and play all 
the w^ay as long as the goods hold out; and Avhen 
these are gone, they even sell their embroidery, 
their lace, and their clothes. This done, they are 
forced upon a new voyage for subsistence!' 

" Many of these coureurs cle hois became so accus- 
tomed to the Indian mode of living, and the per- 
fect freedom of the wilderness, that they lost all 
relish for civilization, and identified themselves Avith 
the savages among whom they dwelt. Their conduct 
and example gradually corrupted the natives, and 
impeded the works of the Catholic missionaries, who 
were at this time prosecuting their pions labors in 
the wilds of Canada. 

" To check these abuses, and to protect the fur 



STOKIES OF MINNESOTA. 61 

trade from various irregularities practiced by these 
loose adventurers, an order was issued by the 
French Government prohibiting all persons, on pain 
of death, from trading into the interior of the coun- 
try Avithout a license." 

Things were, how^ever, soon as bad as before — 
the person to whom the Hcense was given sending 
out from six to ten of the ranchers — and althouofh 
the pious missionaries labored hard to convert the 
Indians, their work was often counteracted by these 
"renegades from civiHzation!" 

Lax as these rangers were, perhaps, in their 
morals, Ave must not forget that it was in their wake 
that civilization spread and the pioneer marched. 
To them is due, in great part, the early opening 
of the West to settlement. Settlement would have 
l)een much more difficult without the coureurs de hois 
to blaze the w^ay for the pioneer. 



THE DRUM-BEAT OF THE MINNESOTA 

FIRST. 

''Ma, have you read the Press? ^'^ 

''I? What tmie have I to see the papers? No, 
of course not. AVhy? More news about that 
robber?" 

"No, that isn't it. But those secesh fellows have 
o-one and fired on that fort in Charleston Harbor, 
because General Anderson wouldn't surrender." 

"No; you can't mean it! And what did Ander- 
son do?" 

"Oh, he didn't surrender, not he! Say, yes — he 

did — too. It goes on to say that ' finally he saw 

he could hold out no longer, so he surrendered, and 
Beauregarde allowed him to march out of the fort 
with colors flying and the men carrying their arms.' 
Well, say! Surrendered!" 

Such was the conversation that took place in a 

63 



64 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

little cottage in St. Paul, the capital of our baby 
state of Minnesota, Monday evening, April 15, 1861. 
Hardly had Mr. Pierson finished speaking, when the 
door quickly opened and in rushed sixteen-year-old 
Harry, wild-eyed and tumble-headed, crying, ^^ The 
North's gone to war with the South, pa! Governor 
Ramsey's telegraphed home from Washington ; says 
he 's oftered a regiment to Mr. Lincoln and it has 
been accepted, and for the lieutenant-governor to 
call i-ight off for volunteers ! " 

"Where did you hear all that, son?" 

"Down to the hotel, ma; everybody's talking 
about it down there, and they say that (xovernor 
Ramsey Avent to the war-office first thing yesterday 
morning and told Seci*etary Cameron he had a 
thousand men ready to go at any time; so Minne- 
sota has made the first offer of soldiers to defend 
the Government. Pa, can't I go?" 

"Whereto?" 

" Go to war, pa. You know the Pioneer Guards 
have just had a meeting at the armory, and lots of 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 65 

iiKii sis>'iic(l a ]ia])er volunteerin<^' to go. Mr. King, 
over on the next street, was the first to sign his 
name, and that makes him the first man in the whole 
United States to vohinteer for the war. Pa, let 
me sign." 

''^ You are too young, Harry; they wouldn't take 
you." 

■^ If they take me, pa, can I go?" 

•^ Yes, if they will take you." 

Mr. Pierson thought the question settled, for he 
felt very sure a boy as young as Harry would not be 
wanted. 

In the morning came Acting-Governor Ignatius 
Donnelly's call for volunteers — for one regiment of 
ten companies — and so quickly and enthusiastically 
was it answered that by the 29th of April, the ten 
desired companies were all assembled at Fort Snell- 
ing. Public meetings had been held in all the larger 
towns, addressed by prominent men of both the great 
political parties, urging the people to rally to the 
support of the flag; and the feeling of the people of 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 67 

Minnesota was manifest by the number of volunteers 
olfei'ing themselves for service; so many moi*e than 
were needed, that a second regiment was soon 
started. Tiie mihtia organizations volunteering were 
the St. Paul, Faribault, Winona, Dakotah, Wabasha 
and Goodhue Volunteers, the Pioneer, Stillwater 
and Lincohi Guards, and the St. Anthony Zouaves. 

Nothing more w^as heard from Harry about enlist- 
ing for tAvo Aveeks, wdien, coming in to dinner on 
Monday, he quietly said, -^ Well, pa, I've enlisted." 

^^You — have — what !" 

" I was seventeen yesterday, pa, and I went over 
to Fort Snelling and told the captain you said I 
mio'ht enlist if he'd take me, and he — he — took 
me, pa." 

^^Wel), I say!" 

"And it Avas just grand, pa; they ran up the 
colors at the okl flag-staif, and the cannon fired 
thirty-four shots, one foi- every state, and they had 
a big dinner spread out on a board table, with a tin 
plate and cup for every soldier. They had the 



68 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

barracks all scrubbed out and clean straw put on the 
floor, and we Avill sleep there until orders come to 
go to Washmgton, and — '' 

There was no need to ask what Harry's feelings 
were on the question. He was wildly excited; the 
seriousness of his undertaking had not yet occurred 
to him, nor would it, probably, until home had been 
left far behind, and actual camp duties had been 
begun. 

Mrs. Pierson had quietly left the room in tears. 
She knew no word of hei's could alter the case in 
any way now; and her heart ached at the thought 
of losing her only child, jjei'haps never to see him 
again. Poor mothers! How much they have sacri- 
ficed for the cause of pi'ogress! That nations might 
prosper and civilization grow, they have given up 
all they hold the dearest since ever time began. 
Bless the mothers! 

So it was settled that Harry should go with the 
regiment when it went out from the state to flght its 
country's battles in the South. And we And him 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 69 

one Saturday morning in the latter i)art of June, 
embnrkino- on the steamer War Eaglf^ at Fort 
Snelling. I'he War Eaifh^ and the Northern Belle 
hinded the whole regiment, at an early hour, at the 
npper levee in St. Paul, where tlie boys marched 
across the city to the lower levee, and there going 
aboard the steamers, again sailed away down the 
river for Prairie du Chien and La Crosse. Harry had 
seen his parents as the regiment went through St. 
Paul, Init had time only to kiss his hand to his mother 
and wave a last good-bye as they marched past. 

On the Avay down the river, there were crowds 
gathered on the levees to cheer the boys in blue as 
they passed down, and at three o'clock in the morn- 
ing, when the boat tied uj) at the wharf in Prairie 
du Chien, the whole of the inhabitants of the town 
were there to meet it, firing cannons and cheering 
lustily. The railroad furnished its best cars to carry 
the Minnesota boys, and gave them a bountiful 
dinner on the way. 

Through Chicago, where speeches were uiade by 



70 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

the mayor and others, through Fort Wayne, Ind., 
and Pittsburgh, Penn., they rode, to Harrisburg, 
where they camped for a day, waiting for instruc- 
tions. At Huntingdon, Penn., a Httle village in the 
mountains, the boys were pleasantly surprised by 
the ladies of the place, who brought in sandwiches, 
doughnuts and delicious coffee. All the journey to 
Harrisburg, indeed, was a continuous ovation, but at 
that city they began to experience more of the 
serious side of a soldier's life, for here a train of 
cattle cars was backed upon the siding and the 
soldiers called upon to clamber aboard. 

'^ Quite a change, is n't it, Harry?" called out one 
of Harry's tent-mates, as they stood in company 
awaiting their turn. 

" Surely they don't intend us to travel to Wash- 
ington in those things, do they. Brown?" 

" Looks that way, Harry." 

"Why, what will we sit on?" 

"On your thumb, I guess, my boy; I don't see 
anything else unless you use your knapsack." 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 71 

" Such ill-smelling things are not fit to carry 
hogs in." 

"Right you are, Harry, but what are yon going to 
do? Cheer np, all things go with the trade;" and 
Brown laughed gayly as he helped his young com- 
rade into the car and climbed in himself. 

The first indications of war came from a woman, 
as the train hurried by a beautiful country home; 
she stood on the veranda spitefully shaking a broom 
at the soldiers in the cars, who cheered and waved 
their hats in return. The next evidence of hostility 
was in Baltimore Avhere, on the nineteenth of April, 
the Sixth Massachusetts regiment had been stoned 
and three of its members killed by a mob. The 
same crowd stood scowlingly waiting to receive the 
Minnesota boys, but a display of bayonets kept 
them at a distance. 

Late in the afternoon other cars of a little better 
kind were taken for Washington, which HaiTy and 
his comrades reached about ten o'clock in the even- 
ing. After some delay shelter was found for the 



72 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

tired troops in the assembly rooms, and not many 
minutes afterward Colonel Aldrich arrived at the 
quarters, followed by a whole squad of colored ser- 
vants with pails of coffee, huge baskets of sand- 
wiches, and i-elays of pies, cakes and doughnuts; 
and never had food tasted better. Mi*. Aldrich was 
a Member of Congress from Minnesota and a very 
open-handed, generous man, who had many times 
during the war proved himself the friend of the 
soldier, and especially of the Minnesota boys. 

Early the follo\nng morning, Harry felt someone 
shaking him, and waked up enough to find Brown 
standing over him and to hear that young fellow say: 

"Wake up! You'll be left. The regiment is on 
the march." 

"Where are we going now?" 

" Don't know. Are you awake?" 

Harry said he thought he was, and rolled out 
of his blanket to find most of his companions gone, 
only a few of the youngei^ ones, tired out like him- 
self, being still in the assembly chamber. Hurrying 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 73 

out with these, he Ibuiul the re<;-inient forininn- in 
front of the Capitol, each man wondering- what tlie 
matter was and hoping tlie rebels had attacked 
AVashington, as was rumored ; but war was not to 
commence for them for some days yet. 

Harry soon found they were only going into 
cam[) for awhile on a rising piece of ground just 
east of the Capitol about a mile. Here they stayed 
drilling and marching, marching and drilling, until 
July 3, spending the time when not on duty in 
examining the public buildings, the only objects 
of interest in the whole city; for AV^ashington was 
not then the "City of Magnificent Distances." 

The streets of AVashington in 18G1 were un[)aved 
and in wet Aveather the heavy ai'iny wagons Avere 
often mii'cd in Pennsylvania Avenue. The old 
canal reeked with malarious and toul smells. The 
dome of the Capitol and the senate wing were untin- 
nished, and most of the shops and residences were 
old, dilapidated and neglected in a])pearance. A 
few years afterward all this was changed and 



74 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

Washington became the most beautiful city in the 
whole United States. 

Our young soldier boy had by this time become 
most 23opular among his companions because of his 
cheerful temper and happy disposition, and his com- 
rades took care that time did not he heavy upon 
his hands. So whatever excursion or pleasure party 
was planned he was always invited; he did not 
become homesick, therefore, Avith so much to take 
up his attention. 

Hard-tack and salt pork do not make the best 
kind of fare. The hard-tack had the letters 
''^ B. C." marked upon it, and Brown suggested one 
day at mess that perhaps the letters stood for the 
date of the baking; the pork was good, excellent, — 
so those reported who had good teeth and strong 
jaws. What wonder foraging was resorted to, even 
though forbidden by camp rules. 

One day Harry and young BroAvn, with a few 
others from the same tent, were returning to camp, 
bringing the dressed quarters of a young beef. It 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 75 

was rather risky work and swift ])iinisliinent ^^encr- 
ally followed the apprehension of any such delin- 
(|nent. When nearly to the eanip one of tlie men 
snng ont, as a nnn:l)er of oftieers eame aronnd a 
bend in the I'ond: 

'^ThereV Colonel Franklin ahead.'' 

■^ AVhat shall Ave do now, i-nnV" asked anothei*. 

"Can't do anythin<>' ])nt face the mnsie, can we?" 
replied Harry. 

And the officer having seen the cnlprits, it did 
seem nseless to i-nn. Hai-ry was appointed spokes- 
man for them all and had made np his mind to 
tell the trnth in answer to Colonel Franklin's qnes- 
tions, when Colonel Gorman, of the Minnesota 
regiment, Avho happened to be monnted, rode np 
and began to denonnce his soldiers, breaking off in 
the midst to reqnest Colonel Franklin to leave the 
men to him for such punishment as would be an 
effective example to the regiment. 

Colonel Franklin walked away, and Gorman, 
turning to the offenders, said: 



76 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

"I^ow, take up that beef and go to your i-egi- 
meiit, and don't disgrace it by ever getting caught in 
any such ,scra])e again." 

And you may ])e sure they never did. 

The Minnesota regiment was next sent to Alex- 
andria, Va., to go into camp, and it was from 
here they Avere ordered to Manassas Junction, where 
the enemy was in force and where, in the Battle of 
Bull Run, Harry first smelled the smoke of battle 
and became acquainted with the horrors of war. 

While his company was hurrying oxer one part of 
the battle field, Harry dropped out of the ranks 
to say a few words to a poor, Avounded com- 
rade, who was crying out at the cruelty of his 
companions in leaving him to the rebels. He 
quieted the wounded man; then as he had seen the 
flag of a field hospital flying in a grove near by, 
picked the fellow up, and staggering under his 
weight, carried him toward the woods. 

Just then a platoon of the enemy wheeled out of 
another clump of woods opi)osite, and hurried across 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 77 

the open towai'ds our young soldier. Evidently 
they were niai-ehing* to that (juarter of the l)attle- 
lield from whieh the noise of the firing came. 
Harry dropped the wounded man — not wishing to 
be taken prisoner — and bounded away towards a 
near by ravine, reaching it just in time to liear the 
"chug'' of the muskets as they fell forward into the 
left hands of the I'ebels. He threw liimself down 
the bank of the ravine and the l)ullets whizzed harm- 
lessly over his head. 

He sprang up and, glancing back, saw a row 
of blank faces, astonished at seeing him break 
down the ravine out of range. Keaching the wood 
he hid until the platoon had passed by; then mak- 
ing his w\ay back to the wounded man, carried him 
safely to the hospital. After seeing him in the 
hands of the surgeon, Harry hastened to rejoin his 
regiment. 

Many times on that terrible July day did Minne- 
sota liave reason to be proud of liei' boys. Bull 
Kun might well have been w^on three times over had 



78 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

all fought as well as tliey. Nor in that terrible 
retreat to Centerville have we less reason to feel 
proud. Colonel Gorman offered his regiment as 
rear guard and was assigned next to that position, 
the Minnesota First marching off dov/n the road in 
perfect ordci', in .strong contrast to other disordered 
mobs of fleeing soldiery. 

Going through Centerville, the regiment halted, 
and Harry, tired and worn out, dropped upon the 
ground Avhere he was and fell asleep immediately. 
In about half an hour, however, he was aroused and 
called up for coffee, after which the march was again 
taken up for Alexandria. 

This was the hardest of all. They knew they had 
met with a repulse, but had not realized that it was 
to be accepted as defeat, and there w^as some 
grumbling heard in the ranks. Again, the prospect 
of a tramp of twenty-five miles, aftei- such a day of 
phenomenal heat, long marches and hard fighting, 
seemed an impossible undertaking. How he did it, 
Harry could not have told afterwards. 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 79 

Loaded down with knapsack, haversack, musket, 
and forty rounds of cartridges, sevei-al times during 
the night he was awakened from deep sleep by 
stumbling against a stone or other obstruction. 
Brown offered to help liim, l)ut Marry refused. 

""I will march till 1 dro]), Bi'own, before Til give 
in or let any one helj) me/' said he; but it was easy 
to see at Avhat cost he was keeping up: his set, 
draAvn face, shuffling, mechanical step, and stagger- 
ing gait told its own stoiy. 

In the forenoon of the next day, he was back in 
his tent at Alexandria, thoroughly exhausted, and 
was soon asleep. But in the afternoon the soldiers 
wei-e once moi-e called up and marched to Washing- 
ton in a heavy rain, and then, cold and wet, kept 
standing on the street for an hour, until quarters 
could be provided. 

The regiment later went into camp a short dis- 
tance east of the Capitol and resumed daily drills. 
Deaths and captures had caused a number of 
vacancies in the regiment, and many promotions and 



80 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

appointments were made to fill them, new names 
being posted daily. 

Brown, who was now in the same mess as Harry, 
came running into the tent one day with his face 
full of news. 

"You have been posted, Harry," he cried. 

" For what ? " 

"I don't know for what ; perhaps for carrying 
that wounded fellow into the hospital. At least, you 
are among those promoted." 

"To what. Brown?" 

" Lieutenant." 

Here others hurried up and began to shake Harry 
by the hand and congratulate him on his good luck. 

So it was as company lieutenant that our youthful 
Minnesotan served his country during the rest of 
the summer of '(51, and until September, 1862, at 
Antietam, when he was wounded in the thigh and 
confined for some weeks to the hospital. Being 
granted a furlough until such time as he was able 
once more to march with his comrades, he spent the 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 81 

winter of '()2 and '()3 in Xew York, visiting his 
cousins. His fatluT and niotlier caiiu' on from the 
West to see their son. They s])ent a month with 
him, and altogether the winter was a most enjoy- 
able one. 

Reporting for duty early in the year, he was again 
assigned to his old regiment as captain of Company 
H; not the company, you will i-emember, of his 
enlistment. Many of his old eomi-ades met him 
upon his return, but others who had fiillen in battle 
w^ere not there to greet him; altogether the whole 
regiment contained but two hundred and sixty-two 
men. 

The great battle at Gettysburg was the first 
important engagement Harry was in after his return, 
and it was here that the First Minnesota won its 
fame. As the battle of Gettysburg was the turning 
point of the Civil War, so was the fight made by the 
Minnesotans the turning point of that battle. The 
stand taken that day hy the boys from the Gopher 
State won the battle of Gettysburg, and turned the 



82 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

tide of the war in favor of the Xoi-th. All honor to 
the Minnesota First! ^' The Spartans did not inquire 
how many the enemy are, ])iit where the}^ are." 

A considerable portion of the Third Army Corps, 
under General Sickles, in fnll retreat from the 
Confederates, had passed the Minnesota regiment. 
Harry and his comrades now numbering, as Ave have 
said, only two hundred and sixty-two officers and 
men, stood, awaiting orders, on the brow of a slope, 
as General Hancock rode up and tried in vain to 
stop the fleeing soldiei-s. Reinforcements were com- 
ing, but what to do to hold the position until they 
arrived! 

"What regiment is this?" cried Hancock, riding 
to where stood the boys from the Northwest. 

"First Minnesota," came the answer. 

"Charge those lines! '' commanded the general. 

The charge was ordered and gallantly made. 
That mere handful of brave Minnesotans charged 
the long lines of well-ordered graycoats, held them 
until the reserves came up, and saved the day! 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 83 

^' l^lu' S|)artans did not inquire' how many tliu enemy 
are, hut where tliey are/' 

This was the hist hattle of importance thai Harry 
was in. Eai'ly in tiie following- year ordei's were 
received for the regiment to I'cturn to Minnesota. 
Leaving' tlie raih'oad at La Crosse, the soldier boys 
were bundled into sleighs and driven on the frozen 
Mississippi to Fort Snelling, where the final muster- 
out came. 

The w^elcome home given our young captain l)y 
his friends and schoolmates may well be left to the 
imagination. Sufiice it to say that two hearts at 
least were made glad as Harry's father and mother 
received him safely returned to tliem once more. 




KI8H-KAH-NAH-CUT, 



THE OUTBREAK OF THE SIOUX. 

]8()2. 

In the year 1802, the United States being at war, 
and hu-ge nnmbers of men having l)een sent ont of 
the state to fill qnotas in Minnesota regiments in the 
South, the Sionx Indians, both Upi)er and Lower 
Bands, decided that the time was i-ipe to kill all the 
whites and regain their old hunting gi-ounds. 

The Ageney of the Upper Sioux was established 
at Yellow Medicine and that of the Lower Sioux 
at Redwood, both places being on the Minnesota 
River. 

Some ten years before this, the Indians had made 
a treaty with the government, ceding certain of their 
lands to the United States. For the lands we were 
to pay the Indians a large sum of money every year, 
and the Indians were accustomed to come into the 

85 



86 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

agency at stated periods to receive tliis money, their 
annuities. 

The fact that in August, 1862, the money long 
due had not been ])aid, may have angered the 
Indians and turned their liands to ])lo()dshed. 

The fii'st blood was shed at Acton. A few 
Indians had quai-rcled with a settlei' at that place 
about some eggs they Avanted. One of the Indians, 
dared by the others, killed the white man, and then 
the whole family was murdered. Other Indian.s 
waiting ;it the agency for their annuities joined the 
nnu'dei'ers, and set u])()n the whites at Yellow ^ledi- 
cine with tomahawk, knife, and gun, putting them 
all to death. After this, the cruel red men sepa- 
rated into small squads of from five to ten, and 
spread over the country in every direction to the 
lonely homes of the settlei's. One thousand pio- 
neers, mos*, of them defenseless Avomen and little 
children, w^ere coldly and ci'uelly mnrdei'ed l)y the 
I'uthless Sioux. 

In attacking the isolated home of the fai'mer, this 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. H7 

was the method of attack: the i)arty of Indians 
woiiUl call at the house, to ask for food or a (h'ink of 
milk, and, ])eing Avell known, would cause no alarm. 
Then they would await a g'ood opportunity, and 
when the man was turned away from them, would 
treacherously shoot him in the back. Not even the 
poor mother was si)ared, though pleading with the 
savages to spare her and her Httle ones. 

The Indians, having plundered and looted the 
house, carried otf* all that seemed valuable to them, 
burned the Iniildings and hurried off to the next 
farm to repeat the outrage. Occasionally some one 
would escape and spread the news of the nuissacre 
to the neighbors; then would follow a hurried pack- 
ing of clothing and bedding, a bundling of food and 
children into wagons and a hurried flight to Fort 
Ridgely or other place of refuge. 




MAJ. T. J. SHEFHAN. 

(Defender of Furt Kidgely) 



CAPTAIN MARSH. 

The repoi't of the outbreak on the 18tli of .Viignst 
had reaelied Fort Kidgely at 9 p. 3i. of the same day. 
Capt. John 8. Marsli innnediately despatched a 
courier after a company of soldiers which liad left 
the fort early in the morning, under Lieutenant 
Sheehan, to go to Fort Eipley on the Upper Missis- 
sij^pi. Another detachment of about fifty, who were 
on their way to Fort Snelling, Avere hui-riedly called 
back. Company E, Fifth Minnesota Yolunteers, 
eighty men, were the only soldiers then at the fort. 

Without waiting for the troops he had sent for to 
come in, Captain ^Earsh set out, with but half a 
hundred men and an interpreter, to punish the 
Indians. He started for the Redwood Agency, 
about twelve miles up tlie ^Finnesota, marching 
along the noi'th bank towards Martelfs Ferry. At 

89 



90 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

this place Captain Marsli intended to ci'oss the river 
and Ironi there march up the south bank to the 
Agency. 

Four miles below this point, the ferryman met the 
soldiers and told them that the Indians were every- 
Avhere killing and burning, and that the best thing 
they conld do was to hurry back to the fort. 

The gallant captain hesitated not a moment. 
"Forward!" he shouted. "We are here to protect 
and defend the frontier, and do it we will, or die 
doing it,'' and he hnrried his soldiers onward. 
Lying by the roadside, asleep in death, wcj-e many 
of the settlei's, mutilated and sealped; yet there was 
no staying the little band of soldiers: they marched 
on, even to certain death. 

Near the ferry the company halts and a man is 
sent forward to examine the ferry and see if all is 
right. He soon retui'us and rei)orts the way clear. 
A solitar}^ Indian warrior, mounted and i)ainted, 
now appeal's on the opposite bank and silently 
beckons the soldiers aci-oss. Then he speaks to the 



STORIES OF MINNKSOTA. *.M 

intcrpi-t'trr: " i\n\\r n\rv\ il is nil ri-hl iu'i-c/' 

he says. 

(Captain Marsh woiuh rs il' the Indinn who seems 
so IViendly is not hopin-- the soldin-s will cross, and 
tiicn hcnnd his Indinn hrot hei-s e:in liiv :il the lioops 
while ei-(»wd(Ml lot;'*'! hci" <»n the rcny-honl . Thr 
eai)tnin is snspieions :ind oi'dci's his men not lostu' 
IVoni whei-e they .uv nntil he cMii innke sniv none of 
their red foes ai'e hid(h'n in the wooded ravines 
aeross the I'ivcr. I^ven while he views the opposite 
shoiv thron-h his olnss. .-ind the men :nv (piietly 
di'inkin-- w.-itci- l)ron.<;ht li-om the rivci', on every skU' 
sonnds the dre.'idcd wnr whoop. Indinns, hnndreds 
of them, i-ise ont ol' the -i-iss nnd hiMish all Mi-onnd 
them nnd \)v^/\u to shoot down the devoted himd. 

l^iereed hy twenty halls, the a.<;-ed inteipivtei" Tails 
from his saddle, and with him many more. What 
hope is there loi' this little handlhl ol' li -liters, hi-ave 
thon<;-h they he, a-ainst so i;reat odds? \\\ steadily 
they fi^iit iheii- way ha(d<, down the river, as cool as 
il" (,i, pai-ade dnty; li-ht their way inch hy inch. 



92 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

taking advantage of evei-y tree and stinnp. Snd- 
denly shots come from the rear. More Indians 
there! They have crossed the stream, and, taking 
advantage of a bend in its conrse, now have the 
soldiers at a donble disadvantage. How escape 
now? To cnt their way thi'ongh tins horde of 
savages is impossible! The only hope is in taking 
to the w^ater and swimming to the other shore; no 
Indians are on that side. 

Captain Marsh gave the order to cross. If the 
river Avas fordable, he thought, so much the better; 
but the river, anyway. Taking his sword in one 
hand and his revolver in the other he himself led the 
way, wading out into the stream. They soon saw 
they must swim, and those who could, struck out for 
the other shore; those who could not do so, remained 
hidden in the grass as best they could imtil nightfall, 
making their escape then under cover of darkness. 
The swimmers had almost reached the farther shore, 
wdien Captain Marsh, struck by a bullet, sank below 
the surface. The Indians, knowing he was an 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. ^ 93 

oftic*ei% (lid their ntinost to kill him, and for weeks 
aftei' the battle, they hung around the s[)ot searching 
for his body, that they might get the scalp. 

Thirteen reached the l)ank safely and returned to 
the fort that night. 'I'hose who had hidden in the 
brush made theii- way als(j to the fort or settlements, 
some who were badly wounded having to stay out 
two oi' three days. 

Lati'i' the l)ody of the captain was found by a 
searching j)arty from the fort, and laid to rest by his 
sorrowing comrades in the military burying-ground 
at Fort Kidgely. 



SEKGEAXT JONES AND THE THIRD 
OF AUGUST. 

(By (^iiinii the Iiitoii)reter.» 

I was looking' towards the Agency and saw a 
large body of men coming in the direction of the 
fort (Fort Kidgely) and snpposed them soldiers 
retnrning from the payment at Yellow Medicine. 
On a second look, T observed that they were 
monnted, and knowing this time that they mnst 
be Indians, was surprised at seeing a large l)ody, 
as they were not exix'cted. T i*esolved to <>'o into 
the garrison to see what it meant, having at the 
time, not the least suspicion that the Indians 
intended any hostile demonstration. 

When I arrived at the garrison, I found Sergeant 
Jones at the entrance with a mounted howitzer, 
charged witli shell and canister-shot, pointed 
toward the Indians, who were removed but a short 

94 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 95 

distance from the i^'unrd-liousc'. I asked the sei*- 
geant iC any danger was apprehended. 

"No,'^ he repHed indifferently, "l)iit I tliiiik it a 
good ride to ol)serve that a soldier siiould always 
be ready for any emergency. '' 

These Indians had reqnested the ])rivilege to 
danee in the inelosure snrronnding the fort. On 
this occasion that i-eqnest was refused them. Bnt I 
saw that abont sixty yards west of the gnard-honse 
the Indians were making the necessary j^reparations 
for a dance. I thonght nothing of it, as they had 
frequently done the same thing, l)ut a little farther 
removed from the fort, under somewhat different 
circumstances. I considered it a singular exhibition 
of Indian foohshness, and at the solicitation of a few 
ladies, went out and was myself a spectator to the 
dance. 

When the dance was concluded, the Indians 
sought and obtained permission to encamp on some 
rising ground about a quarter of a mile west of the 
garrison. To this ground they soon repaired, and 



96 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

encamped for the night. The next morning, l\y ten 
o'clock, all had left the vicinity of the garrison, 
departing in the direction of the Lower Agency. 
This whole matter of the dance was so conducted as 
to lead most, if not all, the residents of the garrison 
to believe that the Indians had paid them that visit 
for the purpose of dancing aud obtaining provisions 
for a feast. 

Some things Avere observable that were unusual. 
The visitors w^ere all warriors, ninety-six in number, 
all in undress, except a very few Avho wore calico 
shirts; in addition to this, they all carried arms, 
guus and tomahawks, w4th ammunition pouches sus- 
pended around their shoulders. 

Previous to the dance, the war implements were 
deposited some two hundred yards distant, where 
they had left their ponies. But even this circum- 
stance excited no suspicion of danger or hostilities 
in the minds of residents of the garrison. These 
residents were thirty-five men — thirty soldiers and 
five citizens — with a few women and children. 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 97 

The oruard that day consisted of tln-ee soldiers: 
one Avas Avalking leisurely to and fro in front of the 
ofuard-liouse; the other two were oft* duty, passing 
about and takin^i^ their rest; and ail entirely without 
apprehension of danger from Indians or any other 
foe. 

As the Indians left the garrison without doing 
any mischief, most of us supposed that no evil was 
meditated by them. But there was one man who 
acted on the supposition that there was ahvays 
danger surrounding a garrison when visited by 
savages; that man was Sergeant Jones. From the 
time he took his position at the gun he never left it, 
but acted as he said he believed it best to do — to be 
always ready. He not only remained at the gun 
himself, but retained two other men, wdiom he had 
previously trained as assistants, to Avoi-k the piece. 

Shortly before dark, Avithout disclosing his inten- 
tions. Sergeant Jones said to his Avife: ''I have a 
little business to attend to to-night ; at bed-time I 
wish you to i-etire and not Avait for me." As he had 



98 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

frequently done this before to discharge some official 
duty at the quartermaster's office, she thought it not 
singular, but did as he requested and retired at the 
usual hour. On awakening in the morning, she was 
surprised to find he was not there, and had not been 
in bed. In truth, this faithful soldier had stood by 
his gun throughout the entire night, ready to fire, if 
occasion required, at any moment during that time; 
nor could he be persuaded to leave that gun until all 
this party of Indians had entirely disappeared from 
the vicinity of the garrison. 

Some two weeks after this time, these same 
Indians, with others, attacked Fort Eidgely and, 
after some ten days' siege, the garrison Avas relieved 
by the arrival of soldiers under Col. H. H. Sibley. 
The second day after Colonel Sibley arrived, a 
Frenchman of pure or mixed blood, appeared before 
Sergeant Jones in a very agitated manner, and 
intimated that he had some disclosures to make to 
him; the man, however, seemed so completely under 
the dominion of fear, that he was unable to divulge 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 99 

the great secret. '^ Why," said he, ''they would kill 
me; they would kill my wife and children." Say- 
ing which he turned and walked away. 

Shortly after the first interview , this man returned 
to Sergeant Jones, and again the sergeant urged 
him to disclose what he knew, promising him that if 
he would do so, he would keep his name a j)rofound 
secret forever. Being thus assured, the Frenchman 
soon becauie more calm. Hesitating a moment, he 
inquired of Sergeant Jones if he remembered that 
some two weeks before a party of Indians came 
down to the fort to have a dance? Sergeant Jones 
replied that he did. 

'"'Well," said the Frenchman, ''do you know tliat 
these Indians were all warriors of Little Crow, or 
some of the other lower bands? Sir, these Indians 
had all been selected foi* the purpose, and came 
doAvn to Fort Kidgely by the ex])ress command of 
Little Crow and the other chiefs, to get permission 
to dance; and when all suspicion should be com- 
pletely lulled, in the midst of the dance, to seize 
LofC. 



100 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

their weapons, kill every person in the fort, capture 
the big guns, open the magazine, and secure the 
ammunition, when they were to be joined by all the 
remaining warrioi-s of the lower bands. Thus armed 
and increased by numbers they w^ere to proceed 
together down the valley of the Minnesota. With 
this force and these vveapoiis they were assured 
they could drive every white man beyond the 
Mississip])i." 

All this, the Frenchman informed Jones, he had 
learned by being present at a council, and from con- 
versations had with other Indians, who had told him 
that they had gone to the garrison for that very 
purpose. When he had concluded this revelation, 
Sergeant Jones inquired, '' Why did they not exe- 
cute their purpose? Why did they not take the 
fort?" 

" Because," answered the Frenchman, " during 
their dance and their w^hole stay at the fort, they 
saw that big gun constantly pointed at them." 



THE ATTACK ON FORT KIDGELY. 
August 20 axd 22. 

Fort Ridgely, on the Minnesota, barred the way 
of the Indians to New IJhn and St. Peter, and mast 
be destroyed. Two attacks were accordingly made, 
one on the 20th of Augnst and the other two days 
afterwards. 

Ridgely was a fort only in name, being bnt a 
group of log and frame buildings, with a barracks 
of stone, arranged in the form of a square. It stood 
on a spur of the prairie tableland, overlooking the 
Minnesota River to the south, and flanked on the 
east and west by deep ravines. Both by construc- 
tion and location it was difficult of defense. 

Without warning of any kind, the savages 
attacked the fort from the ravine on the east 
early in the afternoon. By quick work on the part 

101 



102 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

of the gunners, AVhipple, McGrew, and Jones, and 
the able defense of these guns by the infantiy, the 
post was saved, not until, however, the Indians had 
succeeded in stampeding the government mules and 
officers' horses. During this attack the Indians 
filled up the spring with sand and the defenders of 
the fort had to dig for water. Fire-arroAvs, shot at 
the combustible wooden buildings, were prevented 
by the rain from doing damage. Scouting parties 
of Indians remained near the fort, and on Friday 
began the second attack. 

" At about one o'clock in the afternoon, dis- 
mounting and leaving their ponies a mile distant, 
with demoniac yells the savages surrounded the fort 
and at once commenced a furious musketry fire. 
The garrison returned the fire with equal vigor and 
with great effect on the yelling demons, who at first 
hoped by force of numbers to effect a quick entrance 
and had exposed themselves by a bold advance. 
This was soon checked. 

" Little Crow's plan in this attack, in case the first 



8T0KIES OF MINNESOTA. 103 

dash from all sides proved imsuccessful, was to pour 
a heavy continuous fire into the fort from every 
direction, exhausting the garrison as much as possi- 
ble, and to carry the fort later by assault upon the 
south-west coi-ner. To this end he collected the 
greater portion of his forces in that quarter, and, 
taking i)ossession of the government stables and 
sutler's store, the fire literally riddled the buildings 
at that angle. It was found necessary to shell these 
buildings to dislodge the foe, resulting in their com- 
plete destruction by fire. 

" Attempts were made to fire the fort by means 
of burning arrows but, the roofs being damp from 
recent rains, all efibrts to this end were futile. Still, 
in pursuance of the plan of battle, the hail of bullets, 
the whizzing of arrows, and the blood-curdling war- 
whoop were incessant. . . . 

'^^N'ow began the convergence to the southwest, 
the Indians passing from the opposite side in either 
direction. In moving around the northwest corner 
a wide detour was necessary to avoid McGrew's 



104 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

range, but the open prairie I'endered the movement 
plainly apparent. Divining its object, McGrew 
hastily reported to Jones what was transpiring, 
and was authorized to bring out the twenty-four 
pounder, still in park, with which McGrew went into 
position on the west line of the fort and at the south 
of the commissary building. Meanwhile the fire 
in front of .Jones' gun had become so hot and accu- 
rate as to splinter almost every lineal foot of 
timber along the top of his barricades, but he still 
returned shells at the shortest possible range. 

" During an interval in the fusillade, Little Crow 
w^as heard urging, in the impassioned oratory of 
battle, the assault on the position. Jones doubly 
charged his piece with canister and reserved his 
fire; meanwhile McGrew had fired one shot from 
the twenty-four pounder at the party passing 
around the northeast, and training his gun west- 
erh% dropped his second shell at the point where 
the party had by this time joined the reserve of 
squaws, ponies and dogs west of the main body. A 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 105 

great stampede resulted; the gun was swung to the 
left, bringing its line of tire between the two bodies 
of Indians. Its ponderous reverberations echoed up 
the valley as though twenty guns had opened, while 
the frightful explosion of its shells struck terror to 
the savages and effectually prevented a consolida- 
tion of the forces. 

"At this juncture, Jones depressed his piece and 
fired close to the gi'ound, killing and wounding 
seventeen savages of the party who had nerved 
themselves for the final assault. Completely demor- * 
alized by this unexpected slaughter, firing suddenly 
ceased and the attacking party precipitately with- 
drew, their hasty retreat attended by bursting shells 
until they were beyond range of the guns. 

" Thus, after six hours of continuous blazina' 
conflict, alternately lit up by the flames of burning 
buildings and darkened by whii-ling clouds of 
smoke, terminated the second and last attack. 

" During the engagement, many of the men 
l)ecoming short of musketry ainnumition, spherical 



106 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

case shot were opened in the barracks and women 
worked with busy hands, making cartridges, while 
men cut nail rods into short pieces to use as bullets. 
The dismal whistling of these latter missiles was as 
terrifying to the savages as were their fiendish yells 
to the garrison. Incredible as it may appear, dur- 
ing these engagements at Fort Kidgely the loss of 
the garrison was only three men killed and thir- 
teen wounded." 



THE BTECH COULIE MASSACEE. 

CouVk' is the name given by tlie early Freneh 
rojjdtji^nrs to a ravine with a small stream of I'uiming 
water. Such a ravine exists as a dent in the wall of 
the Minnesota '' l)ottoms," a short distance down the 
river from the present village of Morton. In 
Angust, 1802, there was plenty of water I'unning 
down the eonlie and plenty of wood near by for 
fires, so the fatigued party from Fort Ridgely and 
its escort, under command of Maj. Joseph R. Brown, 
chose this place for their cam}), in spite of the many 
lurking places afforded by the woods and the ravine 
to any Indians who might be near. 

The camp was in the regulation form, the ai'my 
wagons being arranged in a circle, with the horses 
picketed outside, and the men sleeping inside the 
circle. Some of the men slept in tents and some 

107 



108 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

under the wagons rolled in their blankets, but all 
laid down Avith their loaded guns ready at hand. 
No new signs of Indians had been met, although the 
scenes of desolation through which they passed were 
a continual reminder to the soldiers of the blood- 
thirsty red men; with but little fear, therefore, the 
men laid down to i*est, some of them to sleep their 
last sleep on earth. 

" About four o'clock in the morning," says Lieut. 
J. J. Egan, who was present, " T heard a shot, and 
the next thing I heard was the cry, ^Indians!' 
and Captain Anderson yelling at his men, ^Lie on 
your l)ellies and shoot !^' Ten thousand muskets 
seemed to be going off. The men were stunned, 
the hoi'ses frightened, and terror and fear seized 
hold of us all. We blazed away in return, without 
aim or other object than to give evidence that there 
were survivors of their murderous fire, and to pre- 
vent a charge on the camp. 

" As the red early dawn, covering everything 
with a halo of gold, revealed to our gaze what we 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 109 

supposed to l)e two thousand Indians surrounding 
ns on all sides, their leaders mounted on horses 
caparisoned with gay colors, and themselves radiant 
in feathers, war paint, and all the bright and brilliant 
liabiliments of Indian chiefs, the scene seemed 
unreal, as if a page had been torn from the leaves of 
the history of the crusades and the Saracen chiefs of. 
the plains of Asia transplanted to the new wx)rld. 
The fiercest yells and war-whoops, the shaking of 
blanket.s, the waving of Hags to indicate new^ plans 
of movements of attack, the riding of horsemen here 
and there, w^ere right before us, within about five 
hundred yai'ds. Large bodies of Indians running 
continually, seeking new points of vantage, and 
taking orders from a chief, and all yelling and 
l)eating drums, made the scene unearthly. A 
shower of bullets continually fell upon us from all 

sides. 

"The nature of the ground was such, with the 
coulie or ravine on one side, where was a heavy 
growth of timber, and the rest an open praii'ie with 



110 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

little hillocks here and there, just beyond our camp, 
the Indians could pour in a fire on us from every 
direction and themselves be protected. Men were 
dead and dying in the small circle of our encamp- 
ment; the horses were nearly all killed in the first 
half hour, and it looked as if our last hour on earth 
had come. To be scalped and r[uai'tered, oiu* hearts 
cut out, gave us no comforting reflections. Several 
of the men went crazy, and jumping out to give a 
full view, instantly met death. 

" We then began to dig, each man for himself, his 
grave, as he expected. Three spades and one shovel 
were all the implements that could be found for use, 
but sabers and pocket knives were utilized, and 
about noon we had dug holes in the ground that 
aftorded some protection. Never for an instant did 
the firing on us cease. Suddenly some one would 
drop his musket and roll over to die. 

" About one o'clock in the afternoon, we heard a 
loud ]'e]:)ort like that of a cannon. We were all 
startled, not knowing whence the sound came. 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. Ill 

Could the Indians have captui'ed a liowitzer? And 
did tlie}^ have aitillerists among them to turn it upon 
us? Again it l)oomed. Could it be ])ossible we 
were saved? We were sixt(»en iniles from Fort 
Ridgely, and how eould knowledge of oui* situation 
have reaehed the foi't? 

"The silenee of death ])revail(Kl in the eain]). The 
movements of the Indians began to indicate some- 
thing new, and after awhile, again the l^oom of tlie 
cannon sounded in our eai's, and simultaneously 
every man jum]:)ed to his feet and gave a lieartfelt 
hurrah. The spirit of audacity we exhibited led to 
a renewed fire upon us, and we speedily sought our 
respective ])laces of safety. That afternoon we did 
not hear the cannon again, and night coming on, all 
hape of relief left our breasts, and each man sullenly 
and silently pursued his own meditations. It was a 
night of black despair. There seemed no hope. 
The cup of salvation had been snatched from our 
lips, and there was nothing to do but die. 

" We expected to be starved to death, as any one 



112 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

bold enoiig'h to raise up and put an arm into a 
wagon containing snpplies were instantly shot. Onr 
ammunition w^as almost exhansted, and each man 
laid his drawn saber near him and examined his 
musket, i-esolved not to fire again nntil the final 
moment came, when firing would do some execution. 
It happened to be quite dai'k also, Avhich added to 
the uncertainties of the night. The agcmy we suf- 
fered through the long, long night, expecting every 
moment to be rushed upon, is indescribable. Each 
moment seemed hours and hours, eternity. A soli- 
tary camp-fire at Gray Bird's headquarters partly 
relieved the gloom, and the blanketed specters stalk- 
ing ever and anon in front (;t' that fire seemed 
^ ghosts or spirits of goblins damned.' 

" Gladly we hail the morn gilding the horizon. 
We saw unusual movements among our enemy. 
Their war-whoops were fiercer, and their cries and 
gestures more frequent and emphatic. We expected 
the final hour had come and were prepared. The 
agony had been so intense that we felt a relief at the 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 113 

aiitieipalc'd hlow — no dread of death now lin^'ered 
in the lieart of anv. Snddenly tlie hooni of the 
cannon is ag'ain ilea rd, and a<>'ain, nearer and clearer, 
until its roar, usually terril)le, sounded as the sweet- 
est harmony of Jieaven. Confusion seems to pervade 
our enemies; tliey are in fnll flight. But Ave do not 
move from oui" Jioles until General Sibley, with a 
few officers, came right u[) to us, and then, and uot 
till then, did we feel we were saved. 

"Saved! Yes, and from a fearfnl death; and yet 
dying might have been less terrible than living. 
For thirty hours the soldiers had l)eeu under fire, 
and tasted neither food nor watei*. Twenty-three of 
their number lay stark and dead in the little encamp- 
ment; forty-five others were wounded and groaning 
and crying for water. 

"General Sibley, had heard the firing at Fort 
Ridgely on the morning of Sept. 2, and had sent out: 
a party under Colonel McPhail, and then had fol- 
lowed with the entire command. 

" Time will magnify the significance of this Birch 



114 STORIES OF MTNNESOTA. 

Coiilie battle, and it will be remembered that it was 
fought by men without experience in war, those who 
had just enlisted in the service and those who had 
never enlisted, but who, on the first signal of danger, 
left their stores and other places of occupation, 
taking their lives in theii* hands for the protection 
of their people and the state." 



THE OUTCOME. 

Under tlu' cuiiiniaud of Colonel (at'tervvards Brig- 
adier-General ) Sibley, a sluirp campaign was imme- 
diately begun against the Indians eoneerned in the 
outbreak. Of the prisoners taken, four Jiundred and 
twenty-Kve were tried by eourt-mai'tial, and of this 
number three hundred and twenty-one were found 
o-uilty. Three hundred and three of these were 
sentenced to be hanged, but in the following order 
the President comnnited the sentences in the case of 
all but thirty-nine: 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, D.C, Dec. 6, 1862. 

St. Paul, Mitm,: — 

Ordered, that of the Indians and half-breeds sen- 
tenced to be hanged by the military commission, you 



116 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

cause to be executed on Friday, the nineteenth day 
of December, instant, the following named, to wit: 
White Day, Tazoo . . . 

The other condemned prisoners you will hold, 
subject to further orders, taking care that they 
neither escape nor are subjected to any unlawful 
violence. 

Abraham Li:n^coln, 

President of the United States. 



THEIK LAST DAY UPON EAKTH. 

(P'rom a newspaper, 18G2.) 

Wednesday, the 24th of December, was set apai-t 
for the interviews between the condemned and snch 
of their relatives and friends as were confined in the 
main })rison. Each Indian had some word to send 
to his parents or family. When speaking of their 
wives and children, ahnost everyone was aifected to 
tears. Good connsel was sent to the children. 
Most of them spoke confidently of their hopes of 
salvation. 

There is a rnhng passion Avith Indians, and Tazoo 
could not refrain from its enjoyment, even in this 
sad hour. Tatimima was sending w^ord to his rela- 
tives not to mourn his loss; he said he was old and 
could not hope to live long under any circumstances, 
and his execution would not shorten his days a great 




WA-KAX-O-ZIIAN-ZIIAV. 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 119 

deal, and dying as lu- did, innocent of any white 
man's l)l()od, he hoped wonld give him a better 
chance to be saved; therefoi'c, he hoped his friends 
wonld consider his death bnt as a removal IVom this 
to a better world. 

•'I have every hope," said he, "of going direct to 
the abode of the Great Spirit, where I shall always 
be happy/' 

This last remark I'eached the ears of Tazoo, who 
was also speaking to his friends, and he elaborated 
upon it in this wise: 

"Yes, tell our friends that we are being removed 
from this world over the same ])ath they must shortly 
travel. We go first, but numy of our friends will 
follow us in a short time. I expect to go direct to 
the abode of the Great Spirit and be happy when I 
o-et there; but we are told that the road is long and 
the distance great; therefore, as I am slow^ in all my 
movements, it will probably take me a long time to 
reach the end of the journey, and 1 should not be 
surprised if some of the young, active men we will 



i . ) STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

leave behind will pass me on the road before I reach 
the place of my destination." 

In shaking- hands with Red Iron and Akipa, Tazoo 
said, ^'Friends, last summer you were opposed to us. 
You were living" in continual apprehension of an 
attack from those who were determined to extermi- 
nate the whites. Yourselves and families were sub- 
jected to many taunts, insults, and threats; still you 
stood firm in your friendship for the whites, and 
continually counselled the Indians to abandon their 
raids against them. Your course Avas condemned at 
the time, but now we see your wisdom. You were 
right when you said that the whites could not be 
exterminated, and the attempt indicated folly. Then 
you and your famihes were prisoners, and the lives 
of all in constant danger. To-day you are at lib- 
erty, assisting in feeding and guarding us; and 
thirt3^-nine men Avill die in two days because they 
did not follow your example and advice." 

On Thursday evening the ordinance of baptism 
was solemnized by the Catholic priest present, and 



STORIES OF MINNP:S0TA. 121 

received by a considerable number of the condemned. 
Some of tliem entered into tlie ceremony with an 
apparently earnest feeling and an intelligent sense 
of its solemn chai'acter; all seemed resigned to their 
fiite and de[)ressed in spirits. Most of those not 
participating in the ceremony sat motionless and 
more like statues than living men. 

On Friday morning, we accompanied the Rev. 
Father liavoux to the prison of the condemned. He 
spoke to them of their condition and fate and in such 
terms as the devoted priest only can speak. He 
ti-ied to infuse them with courage, bade them to hold 
out bravely and l)e strong, and to show no sign of 
fear. While Father Ravoux was speaking to them, 
old l\izo() broke out in a death- wail in which one 
after anothei* joined until the ])rison room was filled 
with a wild, unearthly plaint, which was neither of 
despair nor grief, but rather a paroxysm of savage 
passion, most impressive to witness and startling to 
heai*, even to those who understood the language of 
the music only. During the lulls of their death-song 



122 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

they would resume their pipes and, with the exception 
of an occasional mutter, or the rattling of their chains, 
they sat motionless and impassive, until one among 
the elder would bi-eak out in a wild wail, when all 
would join again in the solemn preparation for death. 

Following this, the Rev. Dr. Williamson addressed 
them in their native tongue; after which they broke 
out ao'ain in their sono- of death. This last was 
thrilling beyond expression. The trembling voices, 
the forms shaking with passionate emotion, the half- 
uttered words through set teeth, all made up a scene 
which no one who saw can ever forget. 

The influence of the wild music of their death- 
song upon them was almost magical. Their whole 
manner changed after they had closed their singing, 
and an air of cheerful unconcern marked all of them. 
It seemed as if during theii- passionate wailing they 
had passed in spirit through the valley of the shadow 
of death and already had their eyes fixed on the 
pleasant hunting-grounds beyond. 

They had evidently taken great pains to make 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 12:^> 

themselves presentable for their last appearance on 
the stage of life. Most of them had little pocket- 
mirrors, and before they were bound employed 
themselves in putting on the finishing touches of 
paint, and arranging their hair according to the 
Indian mode. All had religious emblems, mostly 
crosses of fine silver or steel, and these were dis- 
played wilii all the prominence of an exquisite or a 
religeiist. Many were painted in war style, with 
bands and beads and feathers, and were decked as 
gayly as Ibi' a festival. They expressed a desire to 
shake hands Avith the reporters who w^ere to write 
about how they looked and acted, and with the artist 
who was to picture their appearance. This ])rivilege 
was allowed them. Xearly all, on shaking hands, 
would point their fingers to the sky and say, as 
idainly as they could, "Me going up.'' White Day 
told us it was Little Crow^ who got them into the 
scrape, and now tJun had to die for it. One said 
there was a Great Spirit above who would take him 
home, and that he should die happy. 



124 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

At a little after nine o'clock a.m., the Rev. Father 
Kavoux entered the prison again to perform the 
closing religious exercises. The guard fell back as 
he came in, the Indians ranging themselves around 
the room. The father addressed the condemned at 
some length and appeared much aflPected. He then 
knelt on the floor in their midst and prayed with 
them, all following and uniting with him in an 
audible voice. They appeared like a different race 
of beings w^hile going through these i-eligious exer- 
cises. Their voices were low and humble, and every 
exhibition of Indian bravado was banished. 

While Father Kavoux was speaking to the Indians 
and repeating for the hundredth time his urgent 
request, that they must think to the last of the Great 
Spirit before whom they were about to appear. 
Provost Marshal Redfield entered and whispered a 
word in the ear of the good priest, Avho immediately 
said a word or two in French to Henry Milord, a 
half-breed, who repeated it in Dakota to the Indians, 
who were all lying down around the prison. In a 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 125 

moment eveiy Indian stood erect, and as the Provost 
Marshal opened the door, they fell in l)ehind him 
with the greatest alacrity. Indeed, a notice of 
release, pardon, or reprieve could not have induced 
them to leave the cell with more apparent willing- 
ness than this call to death. 

At the toj) of the steps there was no delay. 
Captain Redfield mounted the drop at the head, and 
the Indians crowded after him as if it were a race to 
see w4io would get up first. They actually crowded 
on each other's heels, and as they got to the top 
each took his position without any assistance from 
those who had been detailed for that purpose. They 
still kept up a mournful w^ail, and occasionally there 
would be a piercing scream. 

The ropes were soon arranged around their necks, 
not the least i-esistance being offered. The white 
caps which had been ])laced on the top of their heads 
were now drawn down over their faces, shutting out 
forever the light of day. Then ensued a scene that 
can hardly be described, and which can never be 



126 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

forgotten. All joined in shouting and singing, as it 
appeared to those who were ignorant of the lan- 
guage. The tones seemed somewhat discordant, 
yet there was harmony in it. Save the instant of 
cutting the rope, it was the most thrilhng moment 
of the awful scene. And it was not their voices 
alone. Their bodies swayed to and fi"o, and their 
every limb seemed to l)e keeping time. 

The most touching scene on tlie drop was their 
attempt to grasjD each other's hands, fettei'ed as they 
were. They were very close to each other and 
many succeeded. Three or four in a row were hand 
in hand, all hands swaying up and down with the 
rise and fall of their voices. One old man reached 
out on each side, but could not grasp a hand; his 
struggles were piteous and affected many beholders. 

We were informed by those who understood the 
language that their singing and shouting was only 
to sustain each other — that there was nothing 
defiant in their last moments, and that no death- 
song, strictly speaking, w^as chanted on the gallows. 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 127 

Eaeli one shouted his own name, and called on the 
name of his friend, saying in substance, '^ I'm here! 
I'm here!" 

Captain Burt hastily scanned all the arrangements 
for the execution and motioned to Major Brown, the 
signal officer, that all was ready. There was one 
tap of the drum, almost drowned by the voices of 
the Indians — another, and the stays of the drop 
were knocked aAvay, the rope cut, and with a crash 
down came the drop. 




CHAS. E. FLANDRATT. 

(Defender of New Ulm.) 



TXDIAX STRATECIY.^ 

0.\ riiK ^KLLow Medicine, 185(3. 

One (lay, after skirmishing about over consider- 
able country, we made a camp on the Yellow 
Medicine Kiver, neai* a fine spring, and e\ erything 
seemed comfortable. The formation of tlu; camp 
was a s(|uare with the guns and tents inside, and a 
sort of j)icket line on all sides about a hundred 
yards from the center, on which the sentinels 
marched day and night. 

I tented with the Major, and seeing that the 
Indians were allowed to come, inside the ])icket 
lines with their guns in their hands, I took the 
liberty of saying to him that I did not consider 
such a policy safe, because the Indians could, at a 

* By kind permission of tlie piiidisher. E. W. Porter, this story and tlie following one are 
reproduced here from " Tales of the Frontier,'' by Judge C. E. Flandrau. 

129 



18U STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

concerted signal, each pick ont his man and shoot 
liim down, and then where wonld the battery be? 

But the Major's answer was, " Oh, we must not 
show any timidity." 

80 I said no more, but it was just such misplaced 
confidence that afterwards cost General Canby his 
life among the ^Nlodocs, when he was shot down by 
Captain Jack. 

Things went on (juietly, until one (hiy a young 
soldier went down to the spring with his bucket 
and dipper for water, and an Indian who .desired 
to make a name for himself among his fellows, 
followed him stealthily, and when he was in a 
stooping posture, filling his bucket, came up behind 
him, and plunged a long knife into his neck, intend- 
ing of course to kill him; but as luck would have it, 
the knife struck his collar-bone and doubled up, so 
the Indian could not withdraw it. The shock 
nearly prostrated the soldier, but he succeeded in 
reaching camp. The Major immediately demanded 
the surrender of the guilty party, and he was given 



STOIUES OF MINNESOTA. 131 

up by the Indians. I noticed one thing, however; 
no more Indians were allowed inside the lines with 
their guns in their hands. 

When the prisoner was brought into camp, a 
guard tent was established and he was confined 
in it, with ten men to stand guard over him. These 
men Avere each ai-med witii a Minie ritie, which was 
first introduced into the army and which was quite 
an effective weapon. 

While all this was going on, we were holding 
pow-wows ever}' day with the Indians, endeavoring 
to straighten out and clear up all the vexed ques- 
tions between us. The manner of holding the 
council was to select a place on the prairie, plant 
an American flag in the center, and all hands squat 
down in a circle around it. Then the speechifying 
would commence, and last for hours without any 
satisfactory result. Anyone wdio has had much 
experience in Indian councils is aware of the hope- 
lessness of arriving at a termination of the discus- 
sion. It very nuich resembles Turkish diplomacy. 



132 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

But the weather was pleasant and ever} one 
was patient. 

The Indians, however, were concocting plans all 
this time to effect the escape of the prisoner in 
the guard-house. So one day they suggested a 
certain place for the holding of the council, giving 
some plausible i*eason for the change of location, 
and when the time arrived, everybody assembled, 
and the ring was formed. 

Those present consisted of all the traders, Super- 
intendent Cullen, Major Sheehan, Lieutenant Ayer, 
in fact all the white men at the agency, and about 
one hundred Indians, every one of whom had a gun 
in his hands. I had warned the Major frequently 
not to allow an Indian to come to council with a 
gun, but he deemed it better not to show any timid- 
ity, and so they were not prohibited. 

The council on this occasion was held about four 
hundred yards from the battery camp, and on lower 
grounds, but with no obstructions between them. 
The scheme of the savages w^as to spring to their 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 133 

feet on a concerted signal and ])e^'in firing their 
guns all aronnd the council circle, so as to create 
a great excitement and bring everyone to their feet, 
and just at this moment the prisoner in the guard- 
house was to make a run in the dii*ection of the 
council, keeping exactly between the guard and the 
whites in the council ring, l)elieYing the soldiers 
would not fire for fear of killing their own people. 

When the time arrived every Indian juni])ed to 
his feet and fired in the air, creatmg a tremendous 
fusillade, and as had been expected, the most fright- 
ful ])anic followed, and evei-yone thinking that a 
general massacre of the whites had begun, they 
scattered in all directions. Instantly the i)risoner 
ran for the crowd, and an Indian can sprint like 
a deer. Contrary to expectations, every one of the 
ten guards opened fire on him, and seven of them 
hit him, but curiously not one of tlie wounds sto})i)ed 
his progress and he got away; but the bullets went 
over and among the whites, one ricochetting 
through the coat of Major Cullen. 



134 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

The prisoner never was canght, but I heard a 
great deal of him afterwards. His exploit of 
stabbing the soldier and his almost miraculous 
escape made him one of the most celebrated medi- 
cine men of liis band, and he continued to work 
wonders thenceforth. 



pug-o:n^-a-ke-shig and the battle 
of leech lake. 

(Uy (". K. Flan.lr.iii.) 

Early in OetobcT, 1898, there was an Indian battle 
fonght at Leech Lake, in this state, the magnitude 
of the resnlt of which gives it a phice in the history 
of Minnesota, although it was strictly a matter of 
United States cognizance and jurisdiction. In Cass 
count}^ there is a Chippewa Indian reservation, and 
like all other Indian reservations, there are to be 
found there turbulent people, l^oth white and I'ed. 

There is a large island out in Leech Lake, 
called Bear Island, Avhich is inhabited by the 
Indians. On Octobei* L 1897, one Indian shot 
another on the island. A prominent member of 
the tribe named Pug-on-a-ke-shig (Hole in the 
Day) Avas present and witnessed the shooting. An 
indictment was found in the United States district 



136 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

court against the Indian who did the shooting, but 
before any trial could be had the matter was settled 
l)y the Indians in their own way, and they thought 
that was the last of it. A subpoena was issued for 
Pug-on-a-ke-shig and a deputy marshal served it. 
He disregarded the subpoena. An attachment Avas 
then issued to arrest him and bring him into court. 
A deputy United States marshal tried to serve it, 
and was resisted by the Indian and his friends on 
three different occasions, and once when the Indian 
was arrested he was rescued from the custody of 
the marshal — warrants were then issued for the 
arrest of twenty-one of the rescuers. 

This was in the latter part of August, 1898. 
Troops were asked for to aid the marshal in 
making his arrests, and a lieutenant and twenty 
men were sent from Fort Snelling for that purpose. 
. . . It soon became apparent that there would 
be trouble before the Indians could be brought to 
terms, and (reneral Bacon, the officer in command 
of the Department of Dakota, with headquarters at 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 1P,7 

St. Paul, ordered Majoi- Wilkinson of Company 
"E," of the Tliird Regiment of Tnited States 
Infanti-v, stationed at Foi't Snelling-, with his com- 
pany of eighty men to the scene of tlie trouhles. 
General Bacon accompanied these troops. On the 
.^th of Octohei', 1898, the whole force left Walker in 
i)oats for a ])lace on the east hank of the lake, called 
Sngar Point, where thei-e was a clearing of several 
acres and a log honse, occupied l)y Png-on-a-ke- 
shig. 

When the command landed, only a few sqnaws 
and Indians were visihle. The de])nty marshals 
landed, and, with the interpreters, went at once to 
the honse, and while there discovered an Indian 
whom Colonel Sheehan recognized as one for whom 
a wai'rant was ont, and immediately attempted to 
arrest and handcnfi* him. The Indians I'esisted 
vigoronsly, and it was only Avith the aid of three 
or four soldiers that they sncceeded in ai'resting 
him. lie was put on board of the boat. The whole 
force then skirmished through the timber in search 



138 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

of Indians, and did not believe there were any in 
the vicinity, when in fact the Indians had watched 
their every movement, and were close to their trail, 
waiting for the most advantageous moment to 
strike. It was the same tactics which the Indians 
had so often adopted with much success in their 
warfare Avith the whites. AVhile stacking arms, 
a new recruit allowed his gnu to fall to the ground, 
and it was discharged accidentally. 

The Indians were silently awaiting their oppor- 
tunity, supposing it Avas the signal of attack, opened 
fire on the troops, and a vicious battle began. The 
soldiers seized their arms and returned the fire as 
best they could, directing it at the point whence 
came the shots from the invisible enemy, concealed 
in the dense thicket. The battle raged for several 
hours. General Bacon, with a gun in his hands, 
was everywhere, encouraging the men. Major 
Wilkinson, as cool as if he had been in a drawing- 
room, cheered his men on, but was thrice a\ ounded, 
the last hit proving fatal. Colonel Sheehan instinc- 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 139 

lively entered.the fight and took charge of the right 
wing of the Hne, chai'ging the enemy with a few fol- 
lowers and keeping np a rapid tire. The resnlt 
of the light w\as six killed and nine wonnded on 
the part of the troops. No estimate has ever been 
satisfactorily obtained of the loss of the enemy. 

Later the United States commissioner of Indian 
affairs arrived on the scene and satisfactorily settled 
w^ith the Indians. 



THE GRASSHOPPER SCOURGE 11^ 
RENYH^LE COUNTY. 

(Written Ity County Snpt. Erie Ericson, Olivia. Mirn., for tliis publication.) 

The g'reat ^grasshopper scourge in soutliern Min- 
nesota assained serions propoitions in 1874, and the 
locusts increased in numbers and destructiveness 
until the early summer of 1878, when they disap- 
peared. The first year, the hatching of the locusts 
and the work of destruction in Renville county, was 
confined to the sandy soil along the Minnesota 
river, in the townships of Flora and Sacred Heart. 

It is not known from where the vanguard came — 
probably from the arid regions of the southwest. 
They multiply with great rapidity, the eggs being 
laid late in the summer, in packets of about seventy- 
five, in holes bored in the ground. The locust is 
exceedingly voracious, which may be explained by 
reference to its alimentary canal, which is highly 

140 



vSTORIES OF MINNESOTA. 141 

develo[)c'(l, the gizzard being providcMl with IVom six 
to eight rows of horny denticulated plates situated 
on ridges, the whole number of teeth in some 
species amounting to 270. The stomach and saH- 
vary glands are highly develoj^ed, the large jaws 
further adapting it for its vegetable diet. The air- 
tubes dilate into numerous large air-reservoirs, 
which assist it in taking its long-sustained flights. 
The young are hatched about May, and at once 
begin their work of devouring the tender grain. 
They move along in solid [)halanx over a field of 
grain, eating everything clean as they go. The 
myriads stretching across the field, the townshi]), 
the county, made it a hopeless task to exterminate 
them. Many devices were tried, such as plowing 
and burning, but no perceptible impression was 
made. 

About 'July 1 they acquii-e wings and fly in great 
swarms from place to place. These flights are 
taken during the middle of the day, usually at a 
height of 200 to oOO feet, and when watched, as 



142 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

they usually were, by the struggling and anxious 
settlers of those early times, to whom a crop was 
their all, their transparent wings made them look 
like snow flakes, and they seemed almost as numer- 
ous. Between four or five o'clock they would light, 
usually in fields of grain, eat the juicy stalks and 
heads of the grain, and destroy all in a few hours. 
In 187() and 1877 the entire county was literally 
covered with locusts, the fields of grain being swept 
clean from one end to the other. The writer has 
seen houses black with locusts, and trees so heavily 
loaded with them that the branches swayed and 
bent with their weight. 

In 187(3, eleven counties were filled with grass- 
hopper eggs. The legislature passed a resolution 
recommending that the prairies be burned, at a cer- 
tain time of the year, so as to destroy the eggs and 
the young. They also memorialized Congress to 
grant aid to those who had their ci-ops destroyed 
year after year. 

In those days people lived in sod shanties, or 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 143 

houses built of cheap huuher, and little of it. Vuv 
coats were almost uuknown. A ei'y many families 
lived on cheap, coai'se bread, with little meat or 
butter. (Groceries Avere a luxury. The nearest 
market j)laces were ^\'w I^lm and AVillm.'ir until the 
fall of 187(S. Many of the early settlers i-ctuj-ned 
to the east, some to come back after the grass- 
ho])])ers had finally disa|)pe;ii-ed, others, not. 

The United States government sent out ai'iny 
clothing and a lieutenant of the I'cgular army (Ustri- 
buted it to the needy. I'he state of Minnesota 
ai)proi)riated money to help the people get seed 
grain, Renville county receiving $12,000 from the 
appropriation made by the legislature in January, 
1878. The state also sent out hundreds of barrels 
of coal tar which was spread upon large tin ])lates, 
or any flat surface of considerable length and 
breadth, which was dragged over the field of grain. 
The young hoppers would jump upon this platform 
as it was moved along and be caught in the tar. 
Tons of them were destroved, for the Hulit was a 



144 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

des23erate one to get bread foi* tlie family of little 
ones, and a fraction of the growing grain was, in 
some cases, saved. Seed peas were also fnrnished 
by the state, and patches of greater or less extent 
planted. The festive hoppei* did not seem to care 
for this diet, and many a i'armer's ianiily gladly 
dined on pea sonp. 

In the Slimmer of 1878 the hoppers took flight 
before depositing any eggs and whither they went 
was a mystery. It was firinh' believed, however, 
that they wonld hatch somewhere else and return 
thicker than evei- the next yeai*. The ontcome w^as 
awaited with almost bated breath, and the relief w^as 
great w hen the hoppers failed to again appear. Bnt 
even their failnre to appear that year did not at 
once quiet forebodings. People believed the coun- 
try would be visited periodically by these pests, 
and a few years at the most was all the exemption 
that could be expected. Happily these forebodings 
have not been fulhlled, and we hope never will be. 



MINNESOTA JX THE WAli WITH SPA IX. 

Oil the 25th of Api'il, 1<S1)S, (Joiigrcss passed an 
act declaring that war against S])ain liad existed 
since the 21st of the month. A reqnisition was 
made on Minnesota for its qnota of troops imme= 
diately after war was dechu'ed, and hite in the 
afternoon of tiie tvventN-eighth day of .\i)ril the 
(Tovernor issned an order to the adjntant-general to 
assemble the state troops in St. Paul. 

The order Avas promptly obeyed, and all the field, 
staff and company otticers, with their commands, 
reported before the time appointed, and on the 
afternoon of that day went into camp at tlie state 
fair gronnd, which was named Camp Kamsey. 

Minnesota, in 18(31, was the first state to offer 
troops for service in the Oivil Vsdv and in 1898 
again gained that prond distinction. Her soldiers, 

145 



146 



STOKIES OF MINNESOTA. 



of the Thii'teeiith liegimeiit, sei'ved with distinction 
in the Phihppiiies, being engaged in many battles in 
the islands, finally retnrning home to be mnstered 
ont October 12, 1899, in St. Pan), being I'e viewed 
by onr late lamented President McKinley and 
several of his cabinet. 




SCENK IN MILLING DISTKICT IN MINN£APOLIS, 



HITXTIXG AVOLYES TX BED.^ 

Ox rilK MiXXKSOTA lilVKK, IH.li. 

Garvie and I had gotten ([nietly settled in our 
shanty on the prairie, \vh(Mi one excessively cold 
night an Indian ])()y, al)out thii'teen years of age, 
saw our Hght and eanie to the door, giving us to 
understand that his ]>eople were encamped aljout 
(bur or Hve miles uj) the river, and that lie was 
afraid to go any fai'tlicr lest he should freeze to 
death, lie was mounted on a pony, had a pack 
of furs with him, and asked us to take him in tor 
the night. AVe of course did so and made him as 
comfortable as we could by giving him a buffalo 
robe on th(^ f1ooi*. I Jut we had no shcltei' for the 
pony, and all we could do was to hitch him on the 
lee side of the shanty and strap a blanket on liim. 

* T{pprodu«"ed fi-oni '• Tales of tlic Kr<tiilitr"" l>y iicrniissioii of .IiiiIk<- ('• ••. Kluiulraii, 
and the puhlislier, E. W. I'ortcr, St. I'anl. 

147 



148 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

When inoi'iiing carne he was frozen to death. We 
got the poor little l)oy safely off on the way to 
his people's camp, and decided to utilize the carcass 
of the ])ony for wolf bait. 

In order to pi-esent an intelligent idea of the situ- 
ation, I will say that the river made an immense 
detonr in front of the shanty, having a large extent 
of bottom land, covered with a dense chapparral, 
which was the home of thousands of wolves, and as 
soon as night came they would start out in di-oves 
in seai'ch of prey. 

We hauled the dead i)ony out to the l)aclv of the 
shanty and left it about two rods distant from the 
window. The moment night set in, the wolves in 
packs would attack the carcass. At first we would 
step outside and fire into them with buckshot from 
double-barreled shot-guns, but we found they were 
so wary that the mere movement of opening the 
door to get out would frighten them, and we had 
very limited success for the first few nights. 
Another difficulty we encountered was shooting 



STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 141) 

in llif (l.nk. If 3-011 liavc never tried it, and ever 
do, you will Hnd it exceedingly difHenlt to get any 
kind of an aim, and you will have to fire at the 
sound rather than the ohjeet. 

We remedied this trouble, however, hy taking out 
a light of glass from the bacdv window, and building 
a rest that bore directly on the carcass, so that 
we could poke our guns through the opening, settle 
them on the rest, and blaze away into the gloom. 
We brought our bed uj) to the window so that 
we could shoot without getting out of it, while 
snugly wrapi)ed up in our blankets. After this our 
luck improved, and after each discharge we would 
rush out, and with a tomahawk, despatch the 
wounded wolves and collect the dead ones, until 
we had slaughtered forty-two of them. We 
skinned them and sold the pelts to traders for 
seventy-tive cents a piece, wdiich money Avas the 
first of our earnings. 




IHE FALLS OF MINNKIIAHA IN WINTER 










rJlE FALLS OF MIISTNEHAHA. 

This was Iliawathivs wooing! 
Thus it Avas he won tlie daughter 
Of the aneient An'ou-malcer, 
Li tlie hind of the Dacotahsl 

From tlie wigwam lie departed. 
Leading with him Laughing Water; 
Hand in liand they went too-ethei'. 
Through the woodland and the meadow, 

151 



152 STORIES OF MINNESOTA. 

Left the old man .standing lonely 
At the doorway of his wig' warn, 
Heard the falls of Minnehaha 
CalHng to them from the distance, 
Ciying to them from afar off, 

" Fare thee well, O Minnehaha! " 
And the ancient Arrow-maker 
Tnrned again nnto his labor. 
Sat down by his sunny doorway, 
Mnrmni-ing to himself, and saying: 

" Thus it is GUI' daughters leave us. 
Those we love and those who love us! 
Just when they have learned to help us. 
When we are old and lean upon them. 
Comes a youth Avith flaunting feathers. 
With his flute of reeds, a stranger 
AVanders piping through the village. 
Beckons to the fairest maiden. 
And she follows where he leads her. 
Leaving all things for the stranger! " 

— Longfellow. 



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